- "You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness! You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to the fallen Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker was a Force-sensitive Human male who served the Galactic Republic as a Jedi Knight and later served the Galactic Empire as the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Born to the slave Shmi Skywalker in 41.9 BBY, Anakin was conceived by midi-chlorians, the symbiotic organisms that allowed individuals to touch the Force, and he and his mother were brought to the desert planet of Tatooine to be the slaves of Gardulla the Hutt. They soon ended up as the property of the Toydarian Watto, and Skywalker exhibited exceptional piloting skills and a reputation for being able to build and repair anything even at a young age. In 32 BBY, Skywalker encountered the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Padmé Amidala, and he helped them secure the parts they needed for their starship by winning the Boonta Eve Classic podracing event—only to learn that he had also won his freedom in doing so.
Reluctantly leaving his mother behind, Skywalker accompanied Jinn and his group to the Republic's capital of Coruscant and participated in the Battle of Naboo, helping to free Amidala's homeworld from the armies of the Trade Federation. While Jinn was killed during the battle, Jinn's student Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Jinn's wishes and took on Skywalker as his Padawan, and much of the Jedi Council believed that Skywalker was the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy: one who would bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith Order. Skywalker and Kenobi had a number of adventures during the Padawan's decade of training to become a Jedi, but as the Separatist Crisis threatened to tear the Republic apart in 22 BBY, Skywalker was reunited with Amidala when he was assigned to protect her from assassins. The two grew close during the course of the assignment, though they were caught up in the Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Losing an arm during the fighting, Skywalker received a cybernetic replacement, and he and Amidala were secretly married in the days after the battle, despite the Jedi Code's restrictions on romantic attachments.
During the Clone Wars, which raged for the next three years, Skywalker was granted the rank of Jedi Knight and became known to the public as the "Hero with No Fear." Taking on the Togruta Ahsoka Tano as his apprentice, Skywalker fought alongside Kenobi and his fellow Jedi in scores of battles, and his friendship with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine deepened despite the Jedi Order's wariness of Palpatine's rapid acquisition of further powers during the course of the war. Throughout the Clone Wars, Skywalker's anger and sense of loss pushed him ever closer to the dark side of the Force, and his visions of Amidala dying in childbirth in 19 BBY made him desperate to find a way to save his wife. Palpatine, who was actually the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, seduced Skywalker into betraying the Jedi and becoming his apprentice with the promise of saving Amidala, and Skywalker was christened Darth Vader as Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire and eradicated the Jedi Order.
Vader and Kenobi clashed on Mustafar after Vader attacked his wife in the belief that she had betrayed him, and the newly christened Sith Lord was left limbless and ravaged by fire at the end of their battle. Encased in a suit of life-sustaining black armor and believing his wife to be dead, Vader embraced his role as the Emperor's right hand, hunting down Jedi survivors, crushing Separatist holdouts and ensuring the fulfillment of "his" Empire's policies for years to come, actions that awarded him special powers and ultimately the position of Supreme Commander of Imperial Forces. The Sith Lord trained a number of secret apprentices and other Dark Jedi disciples, though his plans to overthrow his master had not advanced far when the Galactic Civil War erupted between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic in 2 BBY. In 0 BBY, the Death Star—the Empire's greatest superweapon—was destroyed by a young Rebel pilot despite Vader's efforts, and the Sith Lord became obsessed with discovering the pilot's identity, only to learn that it was Luke Skywalker: his own son, born before Amidala's death.
Vader continued to pursue both Skywalker and the Alliance over the next three years, finally luring his son into a trap on the mining colony of Cloud City in 3 ABY where the two dueled. Vader revealed his identity to Skywalker, though his son refused to join him and escaped. When Darth Sidious learned of Skywalker's existence, he set in motion his own plans to recruit Skywalker and thereby replace Vader, but Skywalker surrendered himself to Imperial forces on the forest moon of Endor in 4 ABY in hopes of redeeming his father and turning him back to the light side. In a final duel on the second Death Star as the Battle of Endor raged around them, Skywalker and Vader fought each other, and Vader refused his son's attempts to redeem him, learning that Skywalker had a twin sister named Leia in the process. Skywalker defeated his father but refused to kill him, and when Sidious attempted to kill the young man, Vader—moved by his son's love—abandoned the dark side and sacrificed himself to destroy the Emperor, fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One. Mortally wounded, Anakin made peace with his son and became one with the Force, though his reputation, his legacy, and his family endured for decades afterwards.
Biography
Prolepsis
- "Is this—is this happening now, or in the future?"
- ―Q'Anilia
Thousands of years before his birth, Anakin Skywalker appeared as Darth Vader, the Sith Lord he would eventually become, to Jedi Masters Q'Anilia, Xamar, and Feln in a Force vision. The vision also included the Jedi Zayne Carrick, Skywalker's son Luke, and his descendant Cade; all four of them would be affected by the Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman.[26] Similarly, at an unknown period of time, Skywalker was also foretold by the Heinsnake Cult to overthrow both the Jedi Order and the Empire, and leave the galaxy in eternal chaos.[27]
Prior to 67 BBY, the Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous foresaw the coming of the prophesied Chosen One, who would be Anakin Skywalker, through his ability to sense the future's motion. Aiming at possessing such Chosen One's body while he were still young and unable to resist so he could be reborn and conquering the galaxy forever, Tenebrous altered midi-chlorians into maxi-chlorians so he could possess his Sith apprentice Darth Plagueis after being killed by him in Bal'demnic and use him as his host until the Chosen One's emergence. Upon possessing an unaware Plagueis, Tenebrous' consciousness gained access to his apprentice's foresight only to find out that Plagueis would perish long before the Chosen One's appearance, leading a freaked out Tenebrous to leave Plagueis and get left as a disembodied presence in his deathplace.[28]
Around 42 BBY, Plagueis and his apprentice Darth Sidious were able to shift the Force and tip it towards the dark side after months of intense meditation. Plagueis sought to manipulate the midi-chlorians—microscopic lifeforms which lived symbiotically within all living things and allowed those with sufficient numbers of midi-chlorians to touch the Force—and use them to gain power over life and death. He was able to resurrect the Bith Darth Venamis (whom he had been using as a test subject for years) using only the power of the Force. Using his newfound power to heal his own body, Plagueis decided to take his powers further and reached out to the midi-chlorians across the galaxy in order to gain dominance over them, but the Force resisted his efforts and refused. In response, the midi-chlorians acted of their own accord and conceived a child within the Human slave Shmi Skywalker.[29]
Early life
Life as a slave
- "There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can't explain what happened."
- ―Shmi Skywalker
The Human male Anakin Skywalker was born to Shmi Skywalker in 42 BBY (7:4 BrS).[2] In 38 BBY, when he was around three years old, Anakin and Shmi were sold to the Hutt Gardula Besadii on the desert planet of Tatooine, and the two were brought to the planet by a freighter[30]—though they were not permitted to know their destination, and the ship's single refresher backed up during the flight, making the crowded ship's passengers extremely uncomfortable. During the flight, Anakin had premonitions of podracing, and he saw a vision of himself as an older man, racing across the flats of Tatooine. He was awoken from his dream by his mother, who carried him out of the ship when they landed, and they were lined up before Gardulla and her aides.[31]
However, when a shot rang out in a nearby alleyway, Skywalker did not duck for cover like the others in the area and instead watched as an Arcona slave rushed through the area to escape his pursuers. The Arcona's slave transmitter exploded moments later, killing the slave and showing Skywalker what would happen should he ever try to escape. Shortly afterward, Skywalker was implanted with his own transmitter. In the city of Mos Espa, the Skywalkers were forced to share quarters with six other slaves while they were owned by Gardulla,[32] but the fact that he was coupled with his mother allowed Skywalker to endure slavery with relative good humor.[33] Though Anakin was not altogether fond of Tatooine, he set about learning as much about the desert world as possible. He listened to traveling spacers and Gardulla's attendants, learning about the history and function of the planet in the galaxy. He heard of the Tusken Raiders, apparently bloodthirsty savages that roamed the wastelands, Jawas, and krayt dragons, but the element that interested the boy the most was Podracing, descriptions of which matched his premonition.[31] He tired quickly of Tatooine, however, and one day hoped to visit Coruscant, the galactic capital.[34]
While he was a slave of Gardulla, he became friends with fellow slaves Kitster Chanchani Banai and Pala Kwi'teksa, a Human and Twi'lek. Though the three were eventually sold to other masters, they remained friends, as they all lived in Mos Espa.[35] Several months after his arrival on Tatooine, while repairing a vaporator outside Gardulla's residence, Anakin decided to take the initiative, and modify the device. His handiwork was observed by Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer who frequently gambled with Gardulla on podraces. Impressed, the Toydarian gambled for custody of the Skywalkers and won, becoming the pair's owners two days later.[31] Skywalker began working at Watto's Shop as a mechanic,[5] and Watto reluctantly allowed the two to move into a small hovel on Slave Quarters Row in the city of Mos Espa, though he intended to quarter the rest of the slaves he intended to purchase with the Skywalkers when he could afford to buy more.[32]
At an early age, Skywalker exhibited signs of Force-sensitivity; he could sense things before they happened, occasionally sensed the emotions of others, and had exceptional piloting skills which Watto put to use when he made the child race his podracer—the first Human to survive and excel at the sport. Only Shmi knew of her son's abilities, and by the age of nine, Anakin was strong, quick, an expert driver, and an expert at building things.[36] A child prodigy,[37] Anakin excelled at mathematics and engineering.[38] Skywalker did not mind working for Watto as a mechanic, as he enjoyed building and repairing machinery and droids, and his room was filled with a workbench, tools, and various projects in different stages of completion.[35] Skywalker always had something to do at Watto's junk shop; with his mechanical aptitude, he was often called upon to fix the unfixable. Watto kept the Skywalkers in line by threatening to let other slaves share their hovel, should they disobey him. Over the years, Skywalker became familiar with the Mos Espa locals, picked up alien languages, and would often familiarize himself with the controls of starships, by "practicing" with derelict cockpits found in the junkyard.[31]
Even at a young age, Skywalker had a reputation for being able to repair or build anything. Around 34 BBY, Skywalker began to build both a podracer from the pieces he could salvage from the junkyards, restoring a junked podracer cockpit and a pair of Radon-Ulzer 620C racing engines. Knowing Watto would try to take it if it was valuable, Skywalker purposely kept the podracer in a state of seeming disrepair underneath a tarp. Watto gave Shmi an aeromagnifier that she used to clean computer memory devices, allowing the Skywalkers to have a modest income, but Anakin refused to give up on his dreams of freedom, making plans to create a scanner that could locate the transmitter in his body.[31]
Around 34 BBY, when Skywalker was seven, Watto traveled to Anchorhead in order to bid on parts from a recent crash, leaving the boy with a long list of chores to do. However, Skywalker was able to program the droids around the shop to finish the chores by midday, allowing him to take his pack that his mother had filled with meat pies and fruit and meet with his friend Amee for a picnic. In a small canyon near the city that had a strange tree with flickering leaves, the two ate Shmi's meat pies and turnovers made by Amee's mother Hala, but when they returned to Mos Espa, they found the city almost empty. From their neighbors, the two children learned that the pirate Krayn had conducted a slave raid, capturing a number of slaves and overriding their transmitters with their own. Terrified for his mother's safety, Anakin raced home but was relieved to find Shmi safe and sound at their house—unlike Amee's mother Hala. When the boy noticed Amee and Hala's master, Yor Millto, dismissing the abduction of Hala as a "nuisance," Skywalker resolved to remember every moment of that day, save the look of terror on his own mother's face, in order to fuel his ongoing struggle as a slave, and his eventual quest to free slaves.[39]
Around 33 BBY, Skywalker met a retired pilot who told him about the moons of Iego and the angels that supposedly lived there. That year, Skywalker was searching through Watto's junkyard when he came across an ancient battle droid. Curious, the boy dragged it behind Watto's shop and then once Watto was gone hooked it up a power source. The droid was too rusted to move, but its holoprojecter was able to display a damaged and chaotic recording of a battle that involved the Sith. Disturbed by the recording, Skywalker headed home later that day and encountered the pilot, who panicked and thought that the boy was saying the Sith had returned when Skywalker questioned him about the Sith. The pilot explained the history of the Sith Order and the New Sith Wars, a thousand-year conflict between the Sith and the Jedi, though the pilot also noted the rumors that some Sith had survived their defeat in the conflict.[34]
The Ghostling children
- "Mom. What if you want to do something good, but it's hard? Or what if you want to help someone, but you're afraid?"
"Helping others isn't always easy, is it? If people paid us to be good, the galaxy would be overflowing with kindness. But most of the time there isn't much reward, and sometimes it even costs us dearly to do good things."
"Yeah. What if it costs so much that it hurts?"
"I think we should do it anyway. Make it a habit, like eating or breathing. Once you do, you'll hardly even notice the cost." - ―Anakin and Shmi Skywalker
Skywalker continued to race for Watto, frequently encountering the Dug racer Sebulba and losing to him, as the Dug was prone to cheating. One afternoon in 32 BBY, Skywalker was working in Watto's shop when Banai arrived and told his friend about the arrival of Sebulba and another racer named Gasgano in the spaceport, and Banai was able to convince Watto to let Skywalker investigate by telling the Toydarian about a mysterious crate that Sebulba had brought on his freighter. The two joined the growing crowd at Mos Espa's spaceport to watch the two racers' freighters unload. Studying Gasgano's podracer, Skywalker could instinctively sense that nothing was new or important about the changes Gasgano had made, but Sebulba's podracer drew his attention, and he soon noticed the new Kuat 40-Z stabilizers that had been installed.[35]
However, Skywalker's friend Kwi'teksa was uninterested in his discovery, and the other children nearby gathered to listen as she told them how she had been sold to the pirate Lord Tantos so that Tantos could train her as an assassin. Angry and saddened, Skywalker questioned Kwi'teksa as to Tantos's location so that he could go study Tantos and try and figure out a way to help his friend, but he suddenly realized that he had failed to investigate the crate when it was moved to a secure warehouse nearby. Kwi'teksa and the other children then served as a distraction to lure away the Gamorrean guards at the warehouse door, allowing Skywalker and Banai to slip inside and look at the crate, which they soon realized was an energy cage that was holding captured children. One of the children, Princess Arawynne, told the two boys that they were Ghostlings from the planet Datar and begged for their help, but Skywalker was unwilling to do so until she stated that the Ghostlings had not yet been implanted with transmitters.[35]
However, the Dug Khiss entered the warehouse at that point and opened fire on the two boys, who were wearing hooded cloaks and who he thought were trying to free the slaves. Banai and Skywalker fled into the darkness of the warehouse and escaped via another entrance, and the two returned to Watto and told him of their findings about Sebulba's pod—though Skywalker did not explain in detail about the Ghostlings. Dismissing Banai, Watto then ordered Skywalker to head out into the Jundland Wastes, where he was to barter with a tribe of Jawas—scavengers that were one of Tatooine's two native species. Taking his sandskimmer out into the Jundland Wastes, Skywalker reached the towering rock known as the Market after a few hours, where hundreds of the sandcrawlers that the Jawas used to traverse Tatooine's deserts were parked in the shadow of the monolith.[35]
Searching through the endless array of junk that the Jawas had laid out on the sand, Skywalker found the items he needed within an hour and negotiated a good price, though he decided to wait until nightfall before heading back to Mos Espa. In order to preserve his money and buy a present for Kwi'teksa before she left Tatooine, Skywalker settled for a hubba gourd to satisfy his hunger and thirst, and then he began exploring the junkyard in order to find a present. However, he was drawn to a Jawa who was offering a large Radon-Ulzer podracer engine, one that Skywalker believed he could use to repair his podracer, but the Jawa insisted on selling it for cash. When Skywalker was heading back to his sandskimmer, he noticed an old Jawa who was offering a pile of random items, and his attention was drawn to an ancient-looking cube that was small enough to fit in his hand.[35]
Studying the device, Skywalker noticed a number of pictures on the cube's sides, including two Jedi Knights battling each other, a star map, and a lamp with a knife blade through it—a symbol of forbidden knowledge. Unnerved by the darkness that he could sense in the cube, Skywalker was about to set it down when the Jawa offered to sell it for three wupiupi, which was the exact amount that Skywalker had in his pocket. Despite his reservations, the boy purchased the cube and headed back to Mos Espa, though he was unable to open it through any means. He was surprised to find his mother still awake and working on a maintenance droid when he arrived, and Shmi explained that she was helping her sick friend Matta finish her quota of repairs so that she would not be sold by her master Dengula. Anakin stayed up with his mother to finish the droid, though he continued to think about the Ghostling children and what he could do to help both them and Kw'teksa as the night went on and as he went to sleep.[35]
The following day, Banai and the Bothan child Dorn, both of whom were slaves of Gardulla, came to him with Pala and told him how they had hacked into Gardulla's computer network to learn that the Hutt intended to use the Ghostlings as lawn ornaments in her underground pleasure garden. Disgusted by Gardulla's disregard for how the Ghostlings would die in less than a year in those conditions, Skywalker agreed to help his friends break the Ghostlings out of Gardulla's dungeons. Donning Jawa robes and disguises, the three approached Gardulla's fortress on their sandskimmers, taking advantage of the dusk shadows to hide them, and Kitster led them to a narrow chasm that allowed them to reach the walls of the fortress unseen. An enormous cliffborer worm attacked them as they passed through the chasm, though the three escaped unharmed and reached the fortress, which they infiltrated through a ventilation grate in the outer wall.[35]
However, their plans went awry when Kitster was forced to stay with Gardulla the Hutt in the fortress's pool room, forcing Skywalker and the others to find their own way to the dungeons, and Dorn went ahead to scout around while Skywalker and Kiw'teksa stayed behind. When Kitster avoided being eaten by Gardulla, the fortress was thrown into chaos, and Skywalker and Kiw'teksa fled deeper into the dungeons when a Gamorrean guard pursued them—but Skywalker was unaware that his current route was taking them straight to the security control room. Skywalker managed to prevent the security chief from setting off the alarm by using his ion blaster, and Kiw'teksa closed the door just before the chief shot at him, causing the blaster bolt to ricochet and strike the man.[35]
The four children rendezvoused at the slave infirmary, but when Dorn opened the infirmary, they were confronted by an enormous Abyssin whom Skywalker was able to convince to leave, as he claimed that they were replacement guards for the Ghostlings. However, the four accidentally locked themselves in the infirmary, and Arawynne came up with a plan to use a box of bomb transmitters to blow open the door. Taking the rest of the transmitters, Skywalker and the others led the Ghostlings through the fortress to the open hangar, but the young slaves soon realized that they needed to hide the children and come back for them later, so Banai hid the Ghostlings in Gardulla's pleasure garden. The four slaves then snuck out of the fortess alone, with Skywalker using the transmitters to destroy the passage and a seeker droid that was pursuing them with a group of battle droids, and they then headed back to Mos Espa and their homes.[35]
The next day, Watto berated Skywalker for his lethargy, and the boy showed his owner the box he had bought at the Jawa market the previous day. Watto allowed Skywalker to go home and take a nap, but on his way, he encountered Banai, Dorn, and Kiw'teksa, who told him that Gardulla's security had a sample of Kiw'teksa's skin and would soon identify her as one of the perpetrators of the break-in. The old woman Jira brought the four of them into her apartment and began to scold them for trying to free the slaves, but told them that she knew someone who might take the Ghostlings off-world for a high price. Skywalker then offered to make a signal jammer so that Kiw'teksa could evade capture, and he split up with his friends to head back to Watto's in order to make the jammer. As he was heading back to his friend in the market, Skywalker had a strange sense that he was being followed, and Dorn confirmed his suspicions by pulling him aside and pointing out a Sakiyan tracker with a seeker droid who was searching for him.[40]
Donning a Jawa robe, Skywalker hid in a crowd of Jawas while Dorn distracted the hunter Djas Puhr and his partner, Sebulba, and Kiw'teksa sent him toward the podrace hangar before she disabled the seeker droid with a bucket of ganno juice that blocked its olfactory sensors. Grabbing his goggles from Watto's podracer, he heeded Banai's advice and stole Sebulba's podracer as a getaway vehicle, dodging the seeker droid's stun darts and destroying it by catching it between the podracer's energy binders. The reinforced podracer was able to smash straight through the partially open hangar doors, catching the Dug Khiss on one of the stabilizer fins as Skywalker struggled to slow down. To prevent the Dug from reaching him and Banai in the cockpit, Skywalker toggled a random lever that caused the engine to vent fire, sending the Dug flying.[40]
However, Sebulba began to pursue the two in Brant Rumble's podracer, and when Sebulba prepared to ram the podracer and kill the boys, Skywalker gave Banai the signal jammer and let him leap off the vehicle before he tried to open the throttles and escape. When they responded slowly, Skywalker realized that the reinforced engines Sebulba used as battering rams meant that he could not rely on speed alone, so a smaller and faster vehicle would be able to beat Sebulba. Evading Sebulba's blaster shots, Skywalker realized that the Dug was trying to protect his own podracer, and he tossed Sebulba's own goggles and hydrospanner towards Brant Rumble's podracer—where they were promptly sucked into the engine and caused massive damage.[40]
In the chaos, Skywalker escaped and returned to Jira's apartment that evening, where Banai, Dorn, and Jira were waiting for him. Banai explained that he had hidden Kiw'teksa with the Ghostling children, and the three slaves began to pool their money. However, when Anakin returned home, Shmi confronted him about Kiw'teksa, and though she did not say it outright, Shmi knew that Anakin had been one of the children who had broken into the fortress. That night, Skywalker had a dream of an evil voice telling him to open the cube, and when he awoke in the middle of the night, he was sure that the voice had been real—and he realized that the cube was giving off a small amount of heat, just as living creatures did.[40]
The next day, Jira confirmed that the smugglers would arrive the following sunset to pick up the Ghostlings and Kiw'teksa. However, that night, Dorn contacted him via comlink and reported that his master Jabba had ordered him to track down Kiw'teksa. Dismayed, Skywalker told Dorn to meet him at noon so that he could give the Bothan a signal jammer, and he fell asleep after remembering that he had just had a dream of a man with intense eyes, a lightsaber, and a tan poncho who had come to take him away from Tatooine. The next morning, Skywalker headed out to give Dorn his jammer, but he intercepted Sebulba when he noticed the Dug and his crew attempting to locate the Bothan. After giving Dorn the jammer, Skywalker incited a bar fight in the nearby Racer's Edge Cantina when Sebulba and the hunters tried to follow Dorn into the building.[41]
However, when Banai, Skywalker, and Dorn headed out to Gardulla's fortress in disguises, they were followed by Djas Puhr, Sebulba, and other hunters. The pursuers attacked the children in the pleasure garden, separating them, and Skywalker evaded the Abyssin Gondry by trapping him in quickclay from the planet Circarpous V before Sebulba began to pursue him. Coming across a Myrkr SS-23 sewage cannon, Skywalker fled into the bushes—only to come across an unconscious Dorn while trying to stay ahead of Puhr. When Dorn did not waken, Skywalker encountered a green Wistie, a small radiant creature who led him to the Ghostlings and Kiw'teksa just as Djas Puhr captured them. At the Wistie's urging, Skywalker fled the garden and headed home, leaving the Ghostlings and his three friends in Puhr and Sebulba's hands.[41]
When he reached Mos Espa, Skywalker headed straight for Jira and told her what had happened, just as a slave execution was announced for that evening. Jira suggested that Skywalker himself go with the smugglers, and she regretfully explained that she had been unable to gather all of the money necessary for the children and the Ghostlings to escape. However, the boy refused and told Jira to be ready at sunset before he departed, determined to rescue his friends. Selling some of the valuable junk from his room, Skywalker purchased glowrods, sandmasks, and a hand-held beamdrill, and he headed to the Mos Espa Grand Arena where his friends were being held. Entering a large drain in the unguarded holding pens, Skywalker soon located his friends and freed them, ushering them into the sand-drainage system through the drains in their cell just as a guard sounded the alarm.[42]
As they fled through the drainpipes, Skywalker gave the others sandmasks while Dorn led the way with a glowrod and Skywalker followed at the rear of the group with another. The group made their way towards the Podrace hangar, fighting off capture droids with Skywalker's ion blaster, but their path was blocked when sand began to pour into the tunnels and sent the children rushing along the pipes in a torrent of sand. Fighting off a rock wart that tried to steal his glowrod, Skywalker finally came to a stop with the others in a large catch basin, and Skywalker set off to find a way out through the pipes. Using his beamdrill to ward off womp rats and to mark his path, Skywalker was nearly detected by two Morseerian pirates who heard him through the grates, but he managed to steal their treasure from their storeroom after they departed the chamber, giving him enough money to buy passage for the Ghostlings and his friends.[42]
Searching through the pipes and the various grates, Skywalker was able to convince a slave man to let the Ghostlings and his friends out of the drainpipes by removing the grate in his house, but Skywalker was dismayed to learn that Dorn and an unconscious Ghostling named Coniel had been separated from the rest by slave hunters and would meet them at Bantha Rock, the place where the smugglers were supposed to meet the group. Using Watto's landspeeder, Skywalker ferried the Ghostlings and his friends out of the city, away from the slave hunters and to Bantha Rock, where Jira was waiting for them. The smuggler, whom Kitster recognized as his father Rakir Banai, accepted Skywalker's payment and took the children aboard, though Skywalker refused to go with them and leave his mother behind.[42]
However, when Dorn and Coniel arrived, Rakir informed the group that his ship's life-support systems could not take that many people—one of them would have to stay behind. A dismayed Kitster decided to let the others go in his place, as he was not wanted by Gardulla and her thugs, and Skywalker, Kitster, and Jira watched from a distant plateau as the ship lifted off just as Sebulba and the other hunters arrived. Jira gave the two boys the rest of the money, and Skywalker decided to save his money in order to one day buy his freedom. When he reached home, Skywalker found his mother up late working again, and she refused Anakin's offer of help and instead ordered him to clean himself up. Two days later, Skywalker raced Watto's pod yet again, but Sebulba used his exhaust vents to send the boy flying out of control as they went over Metta Drop, wrecking Watto's racer once again.[42]
Podracing and looking to the stars
- "You want to fly the big ships, I think maybe you will. Yep, Anakin Skywalker, I do think maybe one day you will."
- ―The retired pilot
One day when Anakin was working, Watto kicked W. Wald and another child out of his shop before he left to meet with Jabba the Hutt, though Anakin let the two back in to the shop when he was gone. The others began to explore the shop, and Wald soon came across what he believed to be a lightsaber, the weapon of the Jedi Knights, but they were interrupted by a passerby who told them that the Dug Sebulba's new podracer had arrived. While Sebulba was not looking, Skywalker and his friends opened up the podracer's engines, and Skywalker was able to identify a vertigo flux override in the engine before an overeager Wald dropped the lightsaber in the open hatch. Skywalker was barely able to pull the lightsaber free before an angry Sebulba reached them, though Skywalker was unaware that the ancient weapon had damaged the inner workings of the podracer. The three of them headed back to Watto's shop, but when the owner returned and found them, he kicked Wald and the other boy out. However, as a result of Skywalker's unintentional sabotage, Sebulba crashed on his next race, ensuring that Watto did not lose his shop to the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure in their bet on the race.[43]
One day, while chatting in the junkyard with Banai, Skywalker came across a broken 3PO-series protocol droid chassis. Though he surmised that the droid was very old, he was confident that he could restore the droid. Though not totally sure what purpose it would serve, Skywalker smuggled it back to his hovel piece by piece, making sure not to alert Watto. Shmi, apprehensive, explained that it was a protocol droid, and not very useful in their line of work. Anakin protested, claiming that the droid would be able to help with chores and converse with those using alien languages. Shmi relented, but explained to Anakin that the droid was his responsibility alone. Skywalker felt that the droid was a sort of kindred spirit, speculating that he had perhaps tried to escape from his masters, but had been demolished in the process. He named the droid C-3PO, the "three" due to the fact that Skywalker considered him a third member of the Skywalker family.[31]
A few days later, Skywalker dreamed that he won a podrace and was greeted in the winner's circle by a wise man and an angel, but his mother's voice roused him from sleep, and he told her of the dream over breakfast. Skywalker also told Banai of the dream on his way to Watto's shop, where Watto sent Skywalker out to Mochot Steep to acquire the thrusters from the pod of a famous racer named Regga the Hammerhead. Searching through the junk in Watto's shop to find things to trade, Skywalker found a vaporator cylinder and decided to keep it after he had a strange feeling that it would be useful. After picking up C-3PO to use an interpreter, Skywalker headed out to Mochot Steep to trade with the Jawas who had scavenged the thrusters. However, the Jawas wanted money or his water pouches, so Skywalker gave them the vaporator cylinder and offered to repair it in exchange for the thrusters when he realized the Jawas' vaporator was broken.[44]
The grateful Jawas gave Skywalker the remains of the pod, and Skywalker decided to keep the intact engine for his secret podracer. When he returned to Watto's shop that evening, Watto ordered the boy to install the thrusters the next morning, as he would fly Watto's podracer in the next race. The day of the race, Sebulba warned Skywalker of a "surprise" he was planning for the Human in Bimmira Canyon, but Skywalker reached the canyon before Sebulba did during the race. Sebulba and the racer Rimkar managed to pass Skywalker, but Sebulba used his afterburners to destroy Rimkar's pod in Metta Canyon, also causing Skywalker to lose control and crash.[44] An angry Watto demanded that Skywalker repair the pod that night, though Banai and Wald convinced him to go out for ruby bliels, and the three were discussing starfighters when the retired pilot who had told Skywalker about Iego intervened to compliment Skywalker's racing skills.[36]
Buying the boys more ruby bliels, the pilot told them of his exploits in the Republic Starfighter Corps, speaking of other planets and Jedi Knights. The three children spent so much time listening to the man's stories that Skywalker arrived home late for dinner, earning a reprimand from his mother. Shmi once again expressed her opposition to his racing, but Anakin reminded her that Watto would make him race. A little over a week later[36]—by which time Skywalker had C-3PO's intelligence and communication processors repaired—an angry Watto sent the boy out to Mochot Steep to trade with the Jawas.[36]
Picking up C-3PO from his house to use as an interpreter, Skywalker took Watto's speeder out to Mochot Steep, where he was able to barter for several mechanic droids, several multipurpose droids, and a damaged hyperdrive converter. Skywalker then headed back towards Mos Espa with the droids in tow, heading towards the Xelric Draw canyon that split the Mospic High Range on the Dune Sea's edge, but Skywalker stopped when he encountered an injured Tusken Raider—a hostile species native to Tatooine. The Tusken's leg was trapped beneath a boulder, and the Tusken and the slave stared at each other for several minutes before Skywalker decided to use the droids to free the Tusken. By the time they succeeded, night was falling, so the boy decided to stay the night there and had the droids set up a glow unit. C-3PO attempted to communicate with the Tusken when he was awake, but the Tusken remained hostile and wary of Skywalker's intentions. The next morning, Skywalker awoke to find that Tusken Raiders were surrounding him and the droids, but they left in peace after reclaiming their injured kin.[36]
The next day, Skywalker was working in Watto's junkyard, attempting to repair machinery, when a womp rat triggered one of Watto's snares in the junkyard and caused Skywalker to start, hitting his head on the machinery. His friend Amee arrived in time to witness this, and after realizing that the womp rat was very young, Skywalker freed the creature and began to search for parts for his podracer. The pair witnessed a herd of banthas stampeding past the city, leading Skywalker to realize a sandstorm was approaching. Just as Skywalker was about to return to Watto's shop, the womp rat he had freed earlier appeared again on top of what the boy realized was an energy binder after he shooed the creature away.[45]
Taking the part for his racer, Skywalker raced back to Watto's shop, where Watto ordered him to go to the market and trade with another group of Jawas who Watto believed had salvaged Skywalker's crashed podracer. Handing his mother the energy binder, Skywalker headed out to the market, where his friends Wald and Banai snuck up on him and convinced him to join them for ruby bliels at Maggy the Gorgon's cantina. Picking up fruits from Jira at his mother's request, Skywalker promised Jira that he would help fix her cooling unit, but the trio encountered Sebulba just outside the cantina. Fortunately for Skywalker, their fight was broken up by the arrival of the retired Republic pilot, whose presence deterred Sebulba from making any further trouble.[45] Before he left, Skywalker asked the pilot if he would tell him about the angels from Iego again the next time they visited, since the cantina was currently embroiled in a bar fight.[46] At the market, Skywalker and his friends arrived just in time to see the parts Watto wanted sold to a pit droid, and Skywalker returned to the shop and was ordered to clean the junk bins because of his failure.[45]
Discovery
- "You should be proud of your son. He gives without any thought of reward."
"He knows nothing of greed. Only of dreams. He has…"
"Special powers."
"Yes." - ―Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker
While exploring the junkyard a few days later, Skywalker came across the womp rat from earlier, which led him to an intact cooling unit for Jira. Looking up in the sky, Skywalker witnessed a starship flying by overhead, and he sank into daydreams of Jedi and angels. However, he was roused by Watto's shouting for him to come inside, and Skywalker entered the shop to find a tall man, a young woman, a Gungan, and an astromech droid conversing with Watto. At Watto's instructions, Skywalker manned the shop while Watto took the man, Qui-Gon Jinn, into the junkyard. Skywalker found himself unable to look away from the young woman, viewing her as supremely beautiful, and he hoisted himself onto the counter before asking her if she was an angel from the moons of Iego. The woman introduced herself as Padmé Naberrie, just as the Gungan—Jar Jar Binks—activated a DUM-series pit droid that began to wreak havoc in the shop. As Naberrie and Skywalker laughed, he told Binks to hit the droid on the nose, and after peace was restored to the shop, Skywalker declared that he would one day marry her.[5]
Just then, Watto and Jinn returned to the shop, and Jinn informed his companions that they were leaving. Fortunately for Skywalker, Watto allowed him to leave after he cleaned up the mess that Binks had made. As he headed home, Skywalker came across Binks, who was being attacked by Sebulba after the clumsy Gungan had disrupted the racer's meal. Breaking up the fight, Skywalker greeted Naberrie and the rest of her group when they arrived to see what was happening, and he convinced the group to follow him to Jira's fruit stand nearby, where he told the old woman about the new cooling unit he had found and then purchased four pallies. When Skywalker dropped one of his coins and Jinn reached to pick it up, the boy was astonished to see a lightsaber on the man's waist when his poncho opened slightly. Masking his surprise, Skywalker realized he only had enough for three fruits, and he forewent a pallie so the others could have one. When Jira warned the group that a sandstorm was coming, Skywalker insisted that the unprepared group come with him to his house.[36]
When they reached his house, he introduced the group to his mother and explained about the sandstorm before pulling Naberrie into his room to show her his project. Naberrie was genuinely impressed by Skywalker's work on C-3PO, prompting him to turn the droid on, and he also told her about the podracer he was constructing. The two spent the rest of the day examining Skywalker's various projects as the sandstorm continued to rage, and during dinner he began to explain life as a slave, though a brief argument between Naberrie and Shmi about slavery led Anakin to the subject of podracing. Mustering his courage, Skywalker asked Jinn about his lightsaber, and he refused to believe the Jedi's statement that he was not there to free the slaves. As the conversation turned to the group's damaged Nubian starship, Skywalker volunteered to race in the Boonta Eve Classic podrace so that Jinn could get the prize money. When his mother objected, Anakin reminded Shmi of her belief that people needed to help one another, convincing her to allow Anakin to race for Jinn.[36]
The next morning, Jinn and the others accompanied Skywalker to Watto's shop, and the boy began to tell Watto about Jinn's proposal when Naberrie stopped Jinn outside for a brief conversation. To appease Watto, Jinn put forth his ship as the entry fee, and convinced the Toydarian to front the cost of Skywalker's entry into the race in exchange for splitting the winnings fifty-fifty. Watto accepted the deal, and Skywalker was dismissed immediately with instructions to check out Jinn's podracer. Skywalker arrived home before Jinn and the others did, and he led the group to the bone yards behind the slave quarters to where his podracer was concealed under a tarp. With the others' help, Skywalker activated the antigrav lifts and brought the podracer out back behind his house, and there he began preparing the vehicle for the race. As Skywalker worked, his friends Banai, Seek, Amee, and Wald arrived, but Wald, Amee, and Seek were skeptical of Skywalker's chances and left to go play elsewhere. Despite Skywalker's warnings, Binks became caught between the podracer's energy binders, causing his face to go numb. Jinn then helped the boy into the cockpit, where he used a power pack that Jinn had lifted from Watto's shop to start the podracer, and the group was heartened to witness the engines activating and running perfectly.[5]
That afternoon, Skywalker sustained a cut on his arm, though he did not notice it until later that night when Jinn tended to it and took a sample of his blood. Before Skywalker could get Jinn to tell him what he was doing with his blood, his mother called him inside their house for bedtime. That night, Skywalker had a strange dream of darkness, war, and armies—and Naberrie was leading an army into battle. When he awoke, he told Naberrie about the dream, though he soon forgot about the dream in the excitement of the pre-race preparations. With the two eopies Banai brought to help, Naberrie, Banai, Shmi, Anakin, R2-D2, and C-3PO hauled the podracer to the arena hangars, where Jinn had gone to meet with Watto. The Toydarian angrily left the hangar just as they arrived, confusing Skywalker with a comment about Jinn and betting, but Banai unintentionally revealed to Naberrie and the others that Skywalker had never actually finished a race, causing Naberrie to lose hope in the boy's chances.[36]
Racing to freedom
- "You carry all our hopes."
"I won't let you down." - ―Naberrie and Skywalker
A little while later, the racers and their pods entered the arena and lined up for the race, and Shmi stopped her son to ask him to be safe before he headed out to his racer. Naberrie reminded him that their hopes were riding on him, furthering his determination to win the race, and not even Sebulba's threats rattled Skywalker as Jinn helped him into the podracer cockpit. But to Skywalker's dismay, when the starting light turned green, the pod's engines stalled immediately, leaving him stuck at the staring line with only Ben Quadinaros and his stalled racer as the rest of the competitors flew off. Realizing that he had fed the engines too much fuel, he rapidly flipped switches and adjusted settings to reset the engines and succeeded in starting the engines, flying out of the arena and chasing after the others.[36]
He soon caught up to the other racers, passing two before they even noticed him, and he prepared to pass the Troiken Gasgano as they approached Arch Canyon. Gasgano blocked his first few attempts, but Skywalker overtook him as they dropped over a short mesa and proceeded to slip into Arch Canyon quickly and without any trouble. As he left the canyon, Skywalker witnessed Sebulba cause the racer Mawhonic to crash into a rock formation when Mawhonic tried to claim the lead, and Sebulba took out Xelbree by venting fire from one of his exhaust vents when he tried to pass the Dug. Skywalker was in eighth place as they shot through the arena, completing the first lap of three, but he soon became seventh as Ody Mandrell's podracer was damaged in the pits by a clumsy pit droid.[36]
As they started the second lap, Skywalker passed Aldar Beedo and Clegg Holdfast just before Arch Canyon, unknowingly drawing on the Force to strengthen his perceptions and virtually become one with his podracer. When the racers exited Arch Canyon, they were surprised to encounter a group of Tusken Raiders who began to potshot the racers from the nearby cliffs of Tusken Turn, taking out Teemto Pagalies's podracer. Passing Elan Mak and Habba Kee, Skywalker began to creep up on Mars Guo and Sebulba, but Sebulba damaged Guo's engine and caused him to slam into Skywalker's—ripping one of his engines lines free. It took a great deal of maneuvering to keep the podracer stable as Skywalker used a magnetic retriever to catch the engine line that was now loose and reattach it, causing him to fall behind Mak, Kee, and Obitoki. Recovering, Skywalker shot after the four leaders and passed Elan Mak again, only to see Obitoki put of commission the same way he did Xelbree.[36]
Obitoki's damaged racer collided with Habba Kee's and caused both to explode, but Skywalker used the Force to guide himself through the smoke and debris cloud, evading the dangerous wreckage and shooting off after Sebulba. He caught up with the Dug just as they shot through the arena and began the third and final lap, but Sebulba tried to eliminate Skywalker as he done to Obitoki and Xelbree just as they left Arch Canyon. Swerving upward and out of reach, Skywalker was forced onto a stone ramp covered in warning signs, sending his podracer skyward. To recover, he accelerated forward and came down just in front of Sebulba right before they entered a series of caves that led to Tusken Turn. He maintained the lead until they finally reached open plains again, where Sebulba tried to capture the lead as one of Skywalker's horizontal stabilizers on his engines began to shudder violently. Experiencing a vision of Sebulba sabotaging the stabilizer before the race, Skywalker jettisoned the stabilizer but was forced to lose ground to Sebulba.[36]
As they approached the arena, Sebulba blocked every attempt of Skywalker's to pass, and he finally swerved his larger racer into Skywalker's in anger at the boy's repeated attempts—only for the two racers's steering rods to be caught together. When Skywalker's rod finally snapped completely, his podracer began to shudder violently but broke free of Sebulba's racer, the engines of which shot forward and went flying out of control, slamming into rock and sand and exploding. As Sebulba's pod skidded to a halt, Skywalker shot toward the arena and across the finish line, emerging victorious as the youngest winner of the Boonta Eve Classic ever.[36]
As he came to a halt, the crowd swarmed Skywalker's racer, and Banai was the first to his pod and began hugging his friend tightly. The crowd hoisted Skywalker onto their shoulders in celebration, chanting his name, and it was not until almost an hour later that the arena emptied of people and Skywalker could meet up with his family and friends. As Jinn approached, Anakin became embarrassed at Naberrie and his mother's constant hugs and kisses, but Jinn soon departed with Binks and Naberrie to take their parts back to the ship. Anakin, Shmi, and C-3PO walked home together, and he stored C-3PO in his room and headed out to Mos Espa Way—only to be confronted by a Rodian child who accused Skywalker of cheating. Skywalker attacked the Rodian, but Jinn's timely arrival ended the fight, and the Jedi gave him a pouch of credits that Jinn had received for selling the podracer to Sebulba.[36] On their way back to Skywalker's house, Jinn intervened when he saw several slaves being mistreated by their master, and the Jedi used the Force to convince the slaves' owner to treat them better.[46]
Returning home with Jinn, Skywalker ecstatically showed his mother the credits, and his happiness only increased when Jinn told him that he had been freed and Jinn wanted him to become a Jedi. Anakin was so excited that it was several minutes before he realized that Shmi had not been freed as well, and he was dismayed when Shmi insisted that Anakin go with Jinn to a better future without her.[5] Packing his stuff, Skywalker bid goodbye to C-3PO and Banai,[5][36] but when it came time to leave, Anakin's resolve broke and he ran back to his mother. Despite their sorrow at being parted, Shmi convinced her son to go with the Jedi.[5] The duo returned to Watto's shop, where they signed formal documents ensuring Skywalker's freedom, as well as the deactivation of his explosive transmitter, which would be surgically removed at a later date. After some insisting with Jinn, the boy made his way to Jira's fruit stand, bidding the woman farewell and finally leaving Mos Espa. However, Jinn destroyed a strange probe droid that had been surveying them on their way out of the city, and the concerned Jedi urged Skywalker to hurry with him.[36]
As they raced towards the starship that Naberrie and Jinn had come to Tatooine on, Skywalker was suddenly ordered to drop to the ground and complied just as a dark-robed figure shot overhead on a speeder. The man leapt at Jinn, drawing a red-bladed lightsaber and attacking the Jedi as Jinn urged Skywalker to get aboard the ship and to take off. Rushing aboard, he told Naberrie and the security officer with her Jinn's instructions, and Naberrie pulled him aboard to the cockpit to tell Jinn's apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi what had happened. The pilot Ric Olié followed Kenobi's instructions to fly towards the fight, and Skywalker scrambled into a seat as Kenobi raced to the landing ramp and helped Jinn escape from the dark warrior. Skywalker rushed to help Jinn as the ship took off and left Tatooine.[5]
New worlds
- "Anakin, this path has been placed before you. The choice is yours alone."
- ―Shmi Skywalker
Later that night, aboard the ship, which Skywalker learned was the personal starship of the Queen of the planet Naboo, Skywalker struggled to fall asleep in the central chamber, as the ship's temperature was radically different to the constant heat of Tatooine that he was used to. As he huddled in silence and wondered whether leaving was a mistake, Skywalker witnessed Naberrie enter the room and watch a recording of a plea for help from the Naboo official Sio Bibble. She soon noticed him and gave him her overjacket as a blanket, and the two discussed the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo and Naberrie's hopes that the Republic's Galactic Senate could resolve the crisis. Skywalker gave her a japor ivory wood pendant that he had carved for her so that she would remember him, and Naberrie comforted him as he once again began to cry as he remembered his mother.[36]
When they finally arrived at the Republic capital of Coruscant, Skywalker watched from the cockpit in awe as they approached the city-planet, and the ship was greeted when it landed by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, Senator Palpatine of Naboo, and a contingent of Senate Guards. The Queen and her handmaidens—including Naberrie—departed with Palpatine, though they brought Skywalker and Binks along with them to Palpatine's office and left them outside while they discussed the situation. Skywalker soon began to listen at the door, though he began to wonder where Jinn and Kenobi had gone. Amidala changed into a new outfit before the group departed for the Senate Building, though Skywalker was unhappy to not see Naberrie among the handmaidens who accompanied the Queen, Panaka, Palpatine, Binks, and Skywalker to the Senate.[36]
The boy was amazed by the size of the Senate chamber, and he and Binks watched the proceedings from a small viewscreen that Rabé gave them when Amidala and Palpatine addressed the Senate. However, when Amidala's request for an intervention was denied through bureaucracy, the Queen moved for a vote of no confidence in Valorum just as Palpatine recommended. Less than an hour after the Senate went into recess, Skywalker was met by Qui-Gon Jinn, who told him he would be brought before the Jedi High Council. Before he went to the Jedi Temple, Skywalker went to the Queen's chambers in search of Naberrie, but the Queen promised to pass on his message when the handmaiden was absent.[36] Unbeknownst to Skywalker, however, the Queen was in fact Padmé.[5] However, Skywalker grew impatient at the amount of time it took for Jinn to meet with the Council at the Jedi Temple, and decided to explore the premises, eventually getting lost after a sparkly pyramid-like building caught Skywalker's eye.[47]
While trying to find his way back to the temple, Skywalker and Binks encountered a Coruscanti boy named Finn, who ended up not only lost, but his nanny droid ended up malfunctioning. Skywalker and Finn eventually stopped the nanny droid and repaired it, and returned both the droid and Finn to the latter's mother. In return, the mother directed him to the Jedi Temple, where he met up with Jinn.[47]
Harboring strong premonitions he had received on Tatooine, Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin Skywalker to be the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who, it was foretold, would bring "balance to the Force"; Jinn revealed his belief and Anakin's corroborative midi-chlorian test results to members of the Jedi High Council before bringing the boy before them for their consideration of the boy's aptitude for life as a Jedi.[36] At the Jedi Temple, Skywalker faced the twelve Jedi Masters on the Council who began to question him almost immediately, testing his memory and knowledge. Mace Windu then began to test Skywalker's abilities by asking him to determine what images were appearing on a screen that the Jedi was holding but that the boy could not see. Skywalker found his mind filled with images of what appeared on the screen, and he was able to name them all with perfect accuracy. However, when Windu and Master Yoda began to question him about his feelings and his mother, Skywalker asked how that was relevant. Yoda explained that fear was the starting point on the path of the dark side. Staying silent on the subject,[5] the boy put aside his fear and continued the examination.[36]
As night fell, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Jinn were called before the Council. The Jedi Masters acknowledged Skywalker's great power, but refused to train him on account of his age—causing Jinn to declare that he would take the boy on as his own apprentice. However, Windu declared that the matter would be dealt with later, as the Naboo problem was more pressing. The Council permitted Skywalker to accompany Jinn, and the three returned to the Queen's starship, where Skywalker questioned Jinn about midi-chlorians. The Queen and her retinue departed not long afterwards, leaving Coruscant and heading back to the occupied Naboo in hopes of freeing the world from the Trade Federation.[5]
The Battle of Naboo
- "Now this is podracing!"
- ―Skywalker, after blasting his way through the Trade Federation Control Ship in an N-1 starfighter
As they came out of hyperspace and approached the Naboo system, Skywalker sat in the cockpit with Olié and learned about the ship's controls while Queen Amidala held a meeting with the Jedi and her staff and announced her intentions to ally with the Gungans in order to drive the Trade Federation off Naboo. The group landed in the swamps of Naboo and sent Binks to the Gungan capital city of Otoh Gunga, and Skywalker talked briefly with Naberrie while they were waiting for him to return. He explained that the Council had decided not to accept him as a Jedi, but he became excited when Naberrie revealed that there would be a battle against the Trade Federation soon. When Binks finally returned, he explained that Otoh Gunga was empty, but he took the group to the Gungan Sacred Place where the Gungans had no doubt fled after the Trade Federation invaded.[36]
When the group was brought before Boss Rugor Nass, the leader of the Gungans, Skywalker was astonished to learn that Naberrie was in fact Padmé Amidala, the Queen, and that she had been posing as her double's handmaiden as a safety precaution. Skywalker, the Jedi, and Amidala's handmaidens joined the Queen in dropping to their knees before Boss Nass in a plea for Gungan aid, and Nass agreed to lend his army to the Queen's cause. In the hours that followed the meeting, Amidala and the Jedi began strategizing with the Gungan generals, leaving Skywalker to wander over to the Gungan sentries who were keeping watch for the returning Captain Panaka. Skywalker was dismayed to learn of Amidala's true identity, as it only furthered the distance between them, but his ruminations were cut short by the return of Panaka with several speeders of Naboo security officers who had escaped the Trade Federation's occupation. When Skywalker questioned Jinn as to what he would do in the upcoming battle, the Jedi told the boy that he would be safe as long as he stayed close to Jinn.[36]
When the group entered the Theed hangar bay, Skywalker heeded Jinn's command for him to stay hidden in the cockpit of one of the hangar's N1 starfighters. When several droidekas cornered the Naboo personnel in a firefight, Skywalker attempted to aid them with the N1's blaster cannons, although he accidentally activated the ship to go into space in the process.[5]
Ultimately, Skywalker fought in the Battle of Naboo in a vicious starfighter battle above the planet. After accidentally joining the battle in orbit, Skywalker single-handedly destroyed the orbital Droid Control Ship from within the ship, moments after Lt. Gavyn Sykes destroyed the deflector shield generator, thus rendering the Trade Federation's ground forces inactive and saving the Gungan Grand Army from destruction. The following celebration, however, was tainted with the death of Jinn, slain by Darth Maul.[5]
The Master's dying wish was for Kenobi to undertake Skywalker's training, which Kenobi promised to fulfill. The Council reluctantly agreed for Kenobi to begin Skywalker's training, though they were concerned that Skywalker would be too difficult a student for young Kenobi to handle, due to Kenobi's young age.[5]
Meanwhile, Palpatine, the Republic's newly appointed Supreme Chancellor, promised Skywalker that he would watch the young Jedi's career with "great interest,"[5] beginning a long friendship between the young Jedi and the new ruler of the Republic.[11]
At this age, Skywalker participated in more podraces. He was the racetrack champion on the Naboo-based Lianorm Raceway.[48]
Jedi apprentice
Early years
- "The boy has exceptional skills."
"But he still has much to learn, Master. His abilities have made him… well, arrogant." - ―Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi
As Kenobi's Padawan, Skywalker was given his own room in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, in which he soon installed a workbench with tools. He continued to tinker with machines and droids despite the fact that the Order largely had no use for them, and his droids could often be found throughout the Temple on various assignments. Skywalker found himself uncomfortable with the fact that the Jedi Council and other Jedi, though they strove to be equitable, treated him differently than other Padawans. But it was because the boy's skills and abilities were far more advanced than his fellows, a fact that was impossible to ignore. Skywalker and Kenobi soon developed a bond of mutual love and respect, though Anakin continued to test the limits of their relationship, to reassure himself that Kenobi still cared for him (as had so deeply his mother Shmi). But whenever the boy tried to look inward with the Force, he was terrified by the great pain and power that he sensed in his future—a sensation that he described as "burning like a sun inside"—and his fear drove him to recklessness.[49]
Not long after arriving at the Temple, Skywalker met the Cerean Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and his Tusken apprentice A'Sharad Hett. The newly arrived masked Padawan, also from Tatooine, attempted to meditate on a Temple balcony in the cool night air when Anakin encountered him. The Tusken's Master, Ki-Adi-Mundi, came out to scold Hett because of the late hour—his new Padawan, after all, needed his rest for a mission that they would embark on the next day. But Mundi thought better of it, when he saw that Anakin Skywalker might actually be striking up a friendship, something that both he and the boy's Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, knew to have been a difficult thing to do so far, it had seemed, for the young Mos Espa native.[30][50]
Duel in the Jedi Council Chambers
One day while heading to a meditating session with Sinube, Anakin sensed darkness and later was choked by something he could not see during a lesson in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Tiplee and Sinube brush off his concerns so that night, he investigates and goes to the Jedi Council Chamber, where he meets a dark-side entity who tells him that he will turn to the dark side. Anakin igniting his lightsaber to battle the entity until it uses the Force to destroy his lightsaber and blasts him with Force lightning. Despite the loss of his saber, Anakin manages to defeat the entity and Tiplee and Obi-Wan found him unconscious where it was revealed to be a vision.[51]
First mission
About three years into his training, Skywalker and Kenobi embarked on their first mission together: to investigate cult leader Kad Chun aboard the BioCruiser, a nomadic ship from Telos IV owned by UniFy, a mining cartel. Chun, calling himself Uni, was the leader of many disenchanted idealists and refugees who wanted to flee their crime-plagued worlds, whose corrupt bureaucrats were intent on bleeding their planets of their natural resources. Some, including the refugees' extended families and members of the Galactic Senate, suspected the idealists were being held aboard the BioCruiser against their will. Kad's father, Vox Chun—the cult's original inspiration, who'd once been a pawn of the Dark Jedi Xanatos (as had been Vox's other son, Bruck, who was ultimately killed by the then young Jedi Padawan Kenobi)—was killed when Kenobi and Skywalker came to investigate. In the end, Kad Chun was able to finally forgive Kenobi (for his brother's death years before) but also his own scheming father (for his intended betrayal due to greed).[52]
Zonama Sekot
Still craving thrills and adventure at the age of twelve, Anakin salvaged a pair of race wings to secretly participate in the highly dangerous and illegal garbage pit races held in the lower levels of Galactic City. But before the race began, and before his Master could reach him, Anakin was nearly killed by a Blood Carver assassin named Ke Daiv (who'd been employed by the Trade Federation to serve a vendetta against Skywalker for his key role in their defeat at the Battle of Naboo).[49]
The next mission the Jedi duo took was to the living planet of Zonama Sekot to find Jedi Knight Vergere, who had recently vanished on a mission there. Unbeknownst to Kenobi and Skywalker, however, Wilhuff Tarkin and Raith Sienar had followed them to exploit Zonama Sekot's ability to fuse organic and high technology into living starships, creating them at an astonishing rate and at an extremely high quality—and, as such, at a very high price. On the planet, the colonists sold "seed-partners," which bonded with their (typically wealthy) hosts and allowed the planet to customize a starship for the individual. Funded by the Jedi Order in aurodium ingots, Skywalker attracted many more seed-partners than anyone else had ever done, and thus, had a bigger and more intricate ship. Combining his twelve seed-partners with Kenobi's three, he named his new biological ship the Jabitha. When Tarkin and Sienar arrived, the planet "Sekot" revealed its sentient consciousness to the Jedi, explaining that Vergere had left with the mysterious "Far Outsiders" in order to protect Zonama Sekot from invasion and destruction. Skywalker and Kenobi could not rescue the Fosh Jedi, but they were able to halt Tarkin's attack.[49]
When Ke Daiv, now Tarkin's bodyguard, attempted to kill Skywalker, the boy, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, telekinetically burned the Blood Carver from the inside out—it was Anakin's "first personal kill." Skywalker, however, was captured and brought before Tarkin. But Kenobi then managed to destroy Tarkin's flagship and rescue his Padawan. During this altercation, Zonama Sekot was able to activate its massive planetary hyperdrive, causing the planet to vanish, bound for the Unknown Regions. Afterward, Sienar and Tarkin returned to the Republic. Skywalker's organic ship, unfortunately, had been irreparably wounded in the Tarkin attack, and she later died on the remote Jedi outpost-planet, Seline. After the conclusion of the Sekot mission, Kenobi and Skywalker returned to Coruscant. The encounter with Tarkin had been Skywalker's first.[49]
On the occasion of the fourth Temple celebration of his birthday, Padawan Skywalker received from his Master the special gift of a river stone that Qui-Gon Jinn had given to Obi-Wan when he was Anakin's age. The young man came later to regard it as "his most precious possession."[53][54][55]
Pursuing Adas's holocron
Skywalker, now 13 years old, next accompanied Kenobi on his mission to recover from the planet Kodai the ancient Sith holocron of King Adas,[56] which the mad Sith historian, Murk Lundi, once tried to claim. With Lundi accompanying them, the three found that Lundi's pupil, Norval, a dark-side fanatic, had found and taken the holocron for himself. Kenobi, after facing and killing the deranged student, was able to recover the holocron, only to learn that their quest to reclaim it had exacted a heavy toll on Lundi's body. Skywalker and Kenobi spent the last moments of Lundi's life at his side, as the old Quermian professor expressed regret for his fanatical pursuit of the holocron years ago. With the dangerous artifact at last secured, Kenobi and Skywalker returned the holocron to the Jedi High Council for safekeeping within the vaults of the Jedi Temple at Coruscant.[57]
Crafting a lightsaber
- "We are not here on a mission. It is a quest. It is here that you will gather the crystals to fashion your own lightsaber."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to 13-year-old Anakin Skywalker at the Crystal Caves of Ilum
In 28 BBY, when Anakin was thirteen, Kenobi took his Padawan on a journey to the ice planet Ilum and the Temple above the Crystal Caves to construct his first lightsaber, though he did not tell Skywalker where they were going at first. When they arrived, Skywalker landed their ship on a small ledge below the Crystal Caves, their final destination. When Kenobi told him the name of the planet and their purpose there, Skywalker became excited at the prospect of finally fashioning his first lightsaber, and the two pulled on their winter survival gear before departing ship. They used cable launchers to climb the icy cliff face nearby, which led to the caves' entrance, but the two encountered there a group of sleeping gorgodons—large, hulking predators native to Ilum. One of the creatures awoke suddenly and immediately attacked, striking Skywalker with its enormous tail and tossing him back towards the cliff edge, though Kenobi was able to pull him to safety.[39]
Using his training lightsaber, Skywalker aided his master in battling the gorgodons, though when Kenobi slipped on a hidden patch of ice and was in danger of being pinned, Skywalker used the Force to leap to Kenobi's aid, only to be swatted by another gorgodon into a far wall. Recovering, Skywalker rushed to Kenobi's aid while failing to notice the predatory approach of yet another gorgodon; Kenobi, who did notice, jumped protectively in front of his apprentice, but was ultimately pinned against the cliff by the beast that initially threatened him. Using his cable launcher, and remembering what his Master had told him of gorgodons, Skywalker was able to climb the creature's back and, after a momentary struggle, to stab the beast with his training lightsaber at a vulnerable point in the gorgodon's neck, killing it. The other gorgodons fled the cave when they caught the death scent of their fellow.[39]
Removing their survival gear, the Jedi duo prepared now to enter the cave. Kenobi, who stopped just inside the cave entrance as Skywalker went on alone, first warned his student, however, of the "visions and voices" that he would face within, as part of his rite-of-passage Trial. Striding confidently into the caves, Skywalker at first ignored the voices that he heard whispering in the darkness, but when he encountered a vision of himself at the age of seven or eight seated on the ground, he stopped dead. A small, silver bell that his child-self had been playing with (very much like that of Hala of Tatooine) suddenly rolled towards Skywalker, stopping near his feet; blood suddenly began pouring from the bell's opening, spilling out over Anakin's boots, though Skywalker reminded himself that it was all just an illusion. But it became terrifyingly real when he next beheld a vision of his mother being attacked by a shadowy, indeterminate, yet strangely familiar figure—a slaver from his past—which drove the boy to charge the illusion in desperate anger.[39]
The visionary Trial finally ended when Anakin, glancing down, saw formations of lightsaber crystals protruding from the cave floor. Suddenly, Kenobi was there at his side, and, at his Master's urging, Skywalker reached out and chose three crystals that "seemed to speak" to him. Following Kenobi's instructions that it was now time to enter a state of trance, Anakin began to meditate. But as he did so, Kenobi's form suddenly began to twist and contort into that of Darth Maul, the Sith Lord who had killed Qui-Gon Jinn at Theed. Maul began to taunt Skywalker. He tossed him a red-bladed lightsaber, stoking the boy's rage as he tried to lure Anakin to the dark side. But Skywalker resisted Maul's attempts—that is, until the Zabrak mentioned Skywalker's mother, accusing Anakin of abandoning her. Enraged, the Padawan attacked Maul, but the Sith Lord quickly destroyed the boy's training lightsaber and sent him flying into the cave wall.[39]
Determined and undeterred, Skywalker summoned his will to finally banish the vision, despite Maul's ominous warning that his darkness would ever remain within the boy's soul, to taunt and torture the Jedi aspirant. When Skywalker opened his eyes, he found that the lightsaber Maul had thrown him—one identical in aspect to the one he had envisioned for his own—remained in his lap. Its blade glowed blue when he activated it.[39]
Returning now to the cave entrance, Skywalker showed his new weapon to Kenobi, who was astonished at the short period of time in which it had been produced. Anakin told his Master that he must have constructed the weapon during his entranced state, though he could not remember fashioning it, and he did not tell his Master about the vision of the Sith. Just then, Kenobi was contacted on his comlink and informed that they were being summoned back to Coruscant for a mission.[39]
Indeed, their next adventure was to be a Colicoid escort mission. But that mission unexpectedly turned into a joint mission with undercover Jedi Siri Tachi to Nar Shaddaa, in 29-28 BBY, at the conclusion of which Anakin killed the T'surr slave trader and crime lord, Krayn, by impaling him with his new lightsaber. Before Krayn's demise, the notorious slaver had not only kidnapped and enslaved Anakin, but also imprisoned him with Tachi, Obi-Wan's childhood comrade, friend, and love interest. Kenobi, too, then went undercover as an advisor and slave-operations inspector for the Colicoids in an attempt to rescue Tachi and her Padawan. The death of Krayn by Skywalker effectively freed all the moon's slaves, and brought an end to the undercover mission of Tachi, who was soon thereafter Knighted.[30][39]
Mission to Radnor
- "You are thinking of Qui-Gon."
"How did you know?"
"Your face. It changes. Some knot inside you loosens. Something smooths out. I see it happening."
"Stop being so perceptive.
"Now you are not thinking of him at all. The knot is back."
"And you have tied it." - ―Fourteen-year-old Anakin startles Obi-Wan with his already prodigious gifts of Force perception
In 27 BBY, the young Jedi and his Master were called upon―along with Siri Tachi, Soara Antana, Ry-Gaul, and their Padawans, Ferus Olin, Darra Thel-Tanis, and Tru Veld, respectively―to embark on a mission to Radnor to help with the evacuation of the planet, known for its development of high-tech weaponry. The evacuation was due to a deadly toxin that had spread because of a bio-weapons leak. The Jedi later discovered that the toxic leak was connected with Radnoran raiders and their sponsors, the imminent Avoni invaders from a neighboring world. The path of guilt led to Galen, a traitorous Radnoran scientist, who was taken into custody for his treachery on behalf of Avon and its ambassador, Dol Heep. However, ultimately, the Avoni did not pay for their genocidal crimes; the Galactic Senate never thereafter forced them to make amends. To fourteen-year-old Skywalker, it almost seemed as if the planet was worse off than when they'd found it, but in the end, it was not their mission nor their mandate to rebuild Radnor.
The Outbound Flight project
- "Sometimes a Jedi's most important duty is to stand and wait. I presume you've mentioned that to Anakin on occasion?"
"Not more than twice a day." - ―Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Skywalker and Kenobi were next sent to Barlok to monitor the overbearing Jedi Knight Jorus C'baoth and his timid Padawan, Lorana Jinzler, in their negotiation mission between the Corporate Alliance and the Barlok. Unbeknownst to them, Kinman Doriana, on behalf of Darth Sidious, had planned for the negotiation to work splendidly in C'baoth's favor, gaining him enough prestige to go ahead with his pet project, Outbound Flight.
Skywalker and his master were then sent to observe the self-proclaimed Jedi Master C'baoth on this extra-galactic venture, at least until the Outbound Flight's last stop within the known galaxy. Kenobi did not approve of C'baoth's overseeing the project, butting heads with the Jedi Master on numerous occasions. However, the hardheaded and arrogant C'baoth would not listen, and was satisfied when Kenobi and his Padawan disembarked the venture on Outbound Flight's last stop, Roxuli. Despite the problems his master and C'baoth had had, Skywalker greatly admired C'baoth, whom he saw as an example of a great leader. This perception and assessment would later shift Skywalker's view to an infinitely improved and better-managed galaxy under the harsh rule of Palpatine.
Trouble on Ragoon VI
Also in 27 BBY, a simple Jedi training mission to Ragoon VI caused Skywalker and Kenobi to get tangled up with a mysterious man whose mission in life seemed to be to track them down and kill them. Further research on Granta Omega revealed that he was from Nierport VII, collected Sith artifacts, and was extremely wealthy—though he had no traceable sources of income.
Anakin and Obi-Wan met also on Ragoon the brother-and-sister bounty-hunter team Floria and Dane (bounty hunter). There were four other bounty hunters also—Teleq, Mol Arcasite, Hunti Pereg, and an unknown hunter.
The Galactic Games
- "Watch it, you gravel-maggot! [./.] I know, I know … 'Feel my anger, and let it go.' But do I have to be a Jedi all the time, even in space traffic?"
- ―Fourteen-year-old Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker, piloting a Galan starfighter, fires an expletive at a cruiser pilot cutting in the line waiting to land on the planet Euceron
Skywalker and Kenobi were then dispatched to the planet Euceron for the Galactic Games of 26 BBY in order to keep the peace during its events. Skywalker found out about an illegal podrace taking place, and decided to participate in order to help a fellow Tatooine native free his sister from her master, Sebulba. Meanwhile, Kenobi, with the help of Siri Tachi and apprentice Ferus Olin, unraveled a Galactic Games Council plot to ruin several senators' careers by framing them in false-gambling bets made on several rigged events.
The plan was orchestrated by former Games champion and Council member Maxo Vista. Kenobi learned from Vista that the podrace was also rigged so that the lead podracer would lose control of his pod and, via that sabotage, possibly kill hundreds of spectators. Too late, Kenobi set out to warn Skywalker: his Padawan, however, had already begun racing. While Skywalker eventually took the lead, Kenobi could only watch helplessly as Skywalker's pod malfunctioned. Calling upon the Force, however, in combination with his matchless piloting skills, Skywalker managed to gain control of his craft and avert a terrible tragedy, while also securing the freedom of a slave.
Student and warrior
Mission to Haariden
- "There is one Sith still alive … I'm not Force-sensitive. I can never be a Sith. I have found something at last that I cannot buy. But I can be close to that power. I can sit at his side, as I am sitting by your side."
- ―Force Blank Granta Omega to Anakin Skywalker
When Anakin was fifteen, the Galactic Senate and the Jedi High Council dispatched a team of Jedi Knights to the planet Haariden—a world embroiled in civil war—to rescue and retrieve five Republic scientists who had traveled there on an environmental research expedition that emphasized titanite mapping, sponsored by the Galactic Senate.
Anakin and his Master were assigned to the Jedi rescue mission, along with Master Soara Antana and her Padawan Darra Thel-Tanis, who was wounded in a fierce battle as they protected the expedition team. Unknown to all, however, was the fact that among the scientists was an impostor—"Tic Verdun"—whose real identity was Force Blank Granta Omega.
Soon Obi-Wan learned from a Haariden troop commander that Omega was indeed on the planet. After first returning the scientists to Coruscant, further investigation on the man who had previously tried to kill him and his Padawan led Kenobi to the alarming revelation that Omega and "Verdun" were one and the same. More alarming still, he was trying to take over the entire galactic market of bacta production through a titanite-monopoly mining venture, which would cause millions needless suffering and death from a financial inability to secure it due to inflated prices.
Meanwhile, Omega had deceived and captured Skywalker, who came to the same realization almost too late, saved only by Kenobi's rescue. Anakin also discovered that Omega was trying to draw the attention of, and to impress, a Sith Lord: he told Skywalker that he would accomplish this by gaining even more wealth and power in the galaxy than he already had (and what he had was formidable) and by also achieving the personal kill of a Jedi Master (Kenobi).
Notwithstanding, by mission's end, peace was restored to Haariden when its great volcano erupted and when Omega's machinations were stopped through the actions of Kenobi and Skywalker. But Omega himself—once again—escaped their grasp.
Mission to Andara
- "You had a responsibility! Just as I had one to Siri. You betrayed me and the Order by your actions. And your inability to see that troubles me the worst of all."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, berating Skywalker
Not long after, in 25 BBY, sixteen-year-old Skywalker and his Master were given a mission to investigate a senator's son's disappearance, which they suspected was linked with an elite leadership school for children of the galaxy's rich and powerful. In order to investigate a squad of renegade mercenary students harbored within the school itself, the Jedi Council gave Skywalker and Ferus Olin the task of infiltrating the school, which was located on Andara, by posing as privileged, high-profile transfer students. Soon, Skywalker had located the renegade students and acquired their trust. He decided to join them in a mock attack on a Senator Berm Tarturi's ship, which in Skywalker's view would be helping those who were unrepresented under the Senator's jurisdiction. Olin did not like the plan and warned Skywalker of its problems; however, Skywalker dismissed his caution due to his rivalry with Olin.
Later, Olin suddenly disappeared also, but Skywalker neglected to inform his Master. Before the "mock" attack could begin, he found out that the attack would in fact be real, and it threatened to start a war. Before he could leave to inform Kenobi, the leader of the group—revealed as Gillam Tarturi, the Senator's missing son—informed Skywalker that the Padawan would have to die in order for Gillam's plan to proceed. Left with no choice, Skywalker disarmed Gillam and the rest of the squad members, shut down the lasers of the starfighter the group was planning to use, and, at the same time, destroyed ten attack droids. At this point, Kenobi, along with Siri Tachi and Ferus Olin, had arrived to aid Skywalker, but he had already finished the fight. Skywalker's level of skill, already nearly equal to some great Jedi Masters, left Kenobi unnerved. Moreover, Skywalker's master was furious that Skywalker had not told Kenobi that Olin was missing, and for the first time, Kenobi shouted at his Padawan, in unbridled albeit righteous anger. The incident unfortunately widened the emotional gap between Skywalker and Kenobi—one that both had theretofore striven to lessen or close, in emulation of their personal hero Qui-Gon Jinn.
The Poisoned Jedi
Kenobi and Skywalker were later sent on a mission to find out what had happened to the Consular-class cruiser, the Radiant IX, which was carrying the Jedi Et Rex and Alysun Celz back to Coruscant to be punished for falling to the dark side. They discovered that, while on their flight, a large group of mynocks had fed on energy from the ships electrical couplings, causing the ship to plummet into the gravity well in the Hoth system, and crash landed on an asteroid known as the Poison Moon. The distress signal was sent even as Celz killed everyone on the ship. Rex managed to escape Celz and befriend a group of mynocks.
When the Jedi found Celz on the bridge of the ship, she insisted that it was Rex who did it. Kenobi went to find Rex, leaving Skywalker with Celz. When Kenobi found Rex, Rex convinced him that Celz was framing him, and the two hurried back to save Skywalker. In the meantime, Celz tried to convince Skywalker to leave his master, but failed. Celz angrily knocked out Skywalker with her Force lightning, revealing to the Jedi as they entered that she had killed everyone on board. Kenobi engaged her with his lightsaber, only to be knocked back by a dose of Force lightning. Rex sent his mynocks after her lightning, feeding on it like they would electricity. The Jedi left the moon on Kenobi and Skywalker's ship, with Celz as their new prisoner, and headed back to Coruscant.
Yaddle's sacrifice
- "When you look back, lose your place on the path, you do. Learn, you will, Anakin, that stars move and stars fall, and nothing at all, do they have, to do with you."
- ―Yoda, on the death of Master Yaddle
Later, that same year, Skywalker, Kenobi, Yoda and Yaddle were sent on a negotiation mission to Mawan to settle a devastating gang war, in which three criminal organizations fought one another. These gangs, led by Decca the Hutt, Feeana Tala, and the mysterious Striker, caused the remainder of the population to take refuge underground.
During the mission, Skywalker was kidnapped by Striker's men. Striker, revealed to be Granta Omega, tried tempting Skywalker to leave the Jedi Order and come with him, offering visions of freeing the slaves and his mother on Tatooine. When he saw that Skywalker would not yield, he made Skywalker arrange a meeting with himself and Yaddle. Unbeknownst to her and the rest of the Jedi, the chaotic planet was a trap set for the Jedi by Omega. He released a fatal chemical weapon that killed Yaddle when she absorbed it through the Force. However, through her sacrifice, she saved the capital city of Naatan. The weapon was intended by its vengeful maker to kill Skywalker and Kenobi, but it failed because of what Yaddle had done. Kenobi and Skywalker immediately contacted Master Yoda, who knew Yaddle had died, and so prepared his own transport to Mawan. Skywalker and Kenobi managed to bring peace to Mawan, but even after Yoda's words of comfort, Skywalker still felt responsible for the death of the Jedi High Council member.
The Zone of Self-Containment
Skywalker's guilt about Yaddle's death caused friction between him and Kenobi, who felt that he was less than capable of teaching the mischievous Skywalker properly. When sent on a rescue mission in the Uziel system to TY44, one of the moons of the planet Typha-Dor, the two were afforded the opportunity to try and reconcile their differences. When forced to crash land on the planet Vanqor, they passed through several tribulations, including a run-in with a nest of gundarks as a result of Kenobi falling into the nest, with Skywalker having to go into the nest to rescue his master (Obi-Wan would later note that, until guarding Padme Amidala from an assassination, this had been the most tense Skywalker had ever been). Skywalker was then put under the influence of a drug called the Zone of Self-Containment, and taken prisoner by the insane and fanatical scientist Jenna Zan Arbor. Siri Tachi, Ferus Olin, Garen Muln, and Clee Rhara, who were engaged in another mission entirely, received a distress signal from Kenobi while en route to their own destination. They picked up Skywalker and Kenobi on Vanqor.
Trailing Jenna Zan Arbor
Zan Arbor escaped, however, and did not resurface again until Skywalker was seventeen. From information given to them by Tyro Caladian, they discovered that she had reappeared on Romin, a focus of corruption and villainy and a shelter for criminals. In order to infiltrate the planet, he, his Master, Tachi, and Olin disguised themselves as a band of thieves looking for refuge on the planet. They discovered that Zan Arbor had allied herself with Roy Teda—the ruler of Romin—and Granta Omega, Kenobi and Skywalker's old adversary. The Jedi were about to be captured when civil war erupted. The underworld was trying to overthrow Teda, and, in the midst of it, Teda and Zan Arbor fled. The two criminals contacted the Jedi—thinking they were actually criminals—to try to find a way offworld. Unfortunately, Zan Arbor recognized Skywalker from their previous encounter, and Teda ordered his men to seize the Jedi. Before they could do so, Mace Windu and a team of Jedi arrived, arresting Teda and Zan Arbor. In spite of this, since the Jedi were trying to get to Omega, and they knew the two would lead them to him, they set the two captives free.
Trouble on Coruscant
Only a few weeks later, Kenobi and his apprentice trailed Zan Arbor and Teda to Falleen, where the rogues had managed to set up the Blackwater Systems facility to mass-produce her drug, the Zone of Self-Containment. When they were found, Zan Arbor was forced to destroy the facility and they once more fled.
Skywalker and Olin were again paired when the trail of Zan Arbor and Teda led back to Coruscant. Sano Sauro—a friend of Granta Omega—and Bog Divinian started to make anti-Jedi accusations in order to convince the Galactic Senate to lessen or completely dissolve its support of the Order. This vote, which was about whether or not the Jedi should be involved in the Senate's activities, was all a part of Sauro and Omega's plan to leak the Zone of Self-Containment drug into the Senate's vents and assassinate Chancellor Palpatine. Skywalker and Olin, who were learning to forget their rivalry and understand each other, managed to prevent the assassination attempt on the Supreme Chancellor. Omega's plan was uncovered, but not in time to save twenty-one Senators and several other Senate employees from being killed by seeker droids programmed by Teda. Unbeknownst to the renegade, since Zan Arbor and Omega had no more use for the man, a seeker droid killed him, as well. Afterward, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tachi set off to find Omega, leaving Olin to protect the Senators and Palpatine.
Confronting old adversaries
Tracking Omega and Zan Arbor to Korriban, four Jedi pairs—Skywalker and Kenobi, Tachi and Olin, Ry-Gaul and Tru Veld, and Soara and Darra—journeyed there to confront and stop them. During the course of the hunt, the apprentices were split up from the Masters to better accomplish the mission. The investigation of Dreshdae led them to the Valley of the Dark Lords. Because of the dark side power of the planet, the Padawans, instead of working as a team, started fighting amongst themselves. When Skywalker found out about Olin's opportunity for advanced training, he was extremely jealous of him, and, because of all of the friction, their journey to find Omega was catastrophic. They were caught and halted by numerous traps that they would have been able to avoid were they able to function as a team. Because of this, the confrontation with Omega was a complete and utter disaster.
Previously, during the fighting, Veld's lightsaber was damaged, and Olin decided to repair it. Skywalker, who was more mechanically adept than Olin, noticed that what Olin did to the lightsaber might require a check of the flux aperture in case it might need an adjustment to compensate for the power boost. Instead of speaking out and properly repairing the saber himself, he kept quiet, believing that Olin had fixed it since he did everything perfectly. He also felt resentful that Veld had reached out to Olin instead of him, not knowing that Veld had kept quiet so Skywalker would not get in trouble for keeping the faulty lightsaber a secret. During a battle in one of the tombs, Veld's lightsaber began to fail. Olin switched lightsabers with Veld in order to protect him. Darra noticed the faulty lightsaber and leaped to protect Olin. However, she was riddled with blaster fire from Omega and killed. Kenobi, who showed up just in time, was forced to kill Granta Omega with a stroke of his blade. Zan Arbor managed to elude capture once more, and was not seen again by the Jedi or the Republic.
Veld and Olin were reprimanded for not telling their masters that Veld's lightsaber was faulty. When Veld realized that Anakin knew something might be wrong with the saber beforehand, this caused friction between Veld and Skywalker. Olin, blaming himself for Darra's death, resigned from the Jedi Order.
Growing up
Sometime later, Skywalker and his Master were sent on a diplomatic mission to a planet wishing to join the Galactic Republic. They soon found out, however, that the planet's indigenous population considered thievery an important social asset. During their stay, Skywalker's lightsaber was stolen. The Padawan searched for it, ashamed to tell Kenobi that he'd lost it, but soon had to admit defeat. Asking Kenobi for help, he found that the Jedi Knight knew the lightsaber had been stolen, and, using a trick of the Force, had "acquired" it from the thief. Kenobi had merely been waiting for Skywalker to admit that he had lost it.
Kenobi and his apprentice, who was sixteen at the time, were then assigne the task of protecting Senator Simon Greyshade from assassination. Greyshade had recently filled the station of Senator of the Commonality; a Senatorial seat left by his assassinated cousin. Simon's cousin, Jheramahd Greyshade, had been thrown off of the roof of 500 Republica in an attempt to stall the passage of the Financial Reform Act, which the Senator had supported. The act was a bill that addressed and was meant to reduce the amount of corruption that was causing the Senate, and, through them, the Republic, to disintegrate.
Senator Greyshade, who had received a death threat for his stand, was now under the protection of the Jedi duo. Commander Zalin Bey of the Senate Guard and her unit were assigned to investigate Jheramahd's assassination. Skywalker and Kenobi had their hands full protecting Simon from myriad assassins: droids; Keluda, a Dug; and Princess Tsian, whom they could not seriously investigate because of her diplomatic immunity. Despite these hurdles, Tsian was arrested and Keluda was killed.
Sagoro Autem and Isaru Omin continued the investigation of the Senator's murder, turning up several disturbing facts. Sagoro's brother, Venco, had assassinated Jheramahd, and convinced Reymet Autem, Sagoro's son, to unwittingly help him in another assassination, this time an attempt on Simon's life, but this second attempt failed. Sagoro managed to let his son escape, but, unfortunately, when Omin discovered his obstruction of justice, too late for him to arrest Reymet, he arrested Sagoro. The man took the blame and disgrace for what his son had done, and was removed from the office of Senate Guard. Simon Greyshade was safe once more.
Because it was found that the assassination and attempted assassination was because of the Financial Reform Act, it never got a vote. Some say that this was the cause of a good portion of the seceding planets that would soon make up the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and could have prevented the Clone Wars had it been passed.
War on the horizon
- "A fine student, Barriss. The Force flows strongly within her."
"So it does, but not like it does in young Anakin. He is a wild river, your Padawan, full of repressed energy that needs channeling."
"He's often impetuous, which is worrying. Sometimes it carries over into impatience, which is dangerous. But he has gone through and survived a great deal, and he is an avid student of Jedi lore. There are subjects in which he excels, such as lightsaber combat. And he's a natural pilot. But he has little time for the intricacies of history and diplomacy, and politics positively make him ill. Yet he perseveres. A trait he gets, I believe, from his mother, whom Qui-Gon knew but briefly as a quiet yet strong-willed woman."
"If anyone can turn such unwieldy raw material into a polished Jedi Knight, I suspect it is you, Obi-Wan." - ―Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli reflect upon their Padawans on the secession-threatened planet Ansion
At the age of nineteen, in 22 BBY, Skywalker and Kenobi, along with Luminara Unduli and her apprentice, Barriss Offee, were sent to Ansion to settle a border dispute that had the potential to cause the extremely strategic planet to secede to the Confederacy. If Ansion fell, so would countless other worlds. The Jedi negotiated a settlement with city dwellers to remain in the Republic, provided they also convinced the nomadic Alwari to allow expansion into the grasslands. Little did they know that Presidente Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild was pulling the strings to cause Ansion to secede. Arriving early, Kenobi and Skywalker were just in time to rescue Unduli and Offee from a mob of killers. Thanks again to Shu Mai and her minion Soergg the Hutt, the Jedi were in constant danger from attack by hired killers, including a successful kidnapping of Offee by two Ansionians, Kyakhta and Bulgan. Offee healed the two killers of injuries, though, and they became guides for the Jedi to find the nomadic clans, particularly the Borokii overclan. Traveling on suubatars, the Jedi braved hazards such as flying chawix, kyren hordes, capture by the Yiwa clan and shanhs. On one occasion, the Jedi were required to publicly entertain their hosts, each in turn and in their own way. When called up himself, Skywalker chose to sing a ballad he had known and often sung in childhood, impressing both the Ansionians and his fellow Jedi with his deep and resonant voice.
The Jedi eventually made contact with the Borokii overclan, who, after requiring the Jedi to retrieve a tuft of rare albino surepp wool, agreed to the Jedi's settlement—provided they help wage war against their rivals, the Januul clan. Skywalker was shocked when Kenobi agreed, but he had a plan. When the battle lines were drawn, the Jedi marched out into the middle and refused to fight either side, calling on both clans to negotiate a settlement. Kenobi, Skywalker, Unduli, and Offee were subsequently attacked by both sides, but they deflected the assaults, and amazingly parried only the weapons' strikes or blasts, defeating both armies with no loss of life. In the wake of the following peace between the tribes, the Jedi journeyed back to the capital of Cuipernam to inform the Unity Council controlling the planet's fate of their success. While they were attacked again by thugs, the two clans sent an Alwari honor guard to help the Jedi, and Ansion remained in the Republic, thanks to the efforts of Skywalker and his companions. Because of her status as Presidente, Shu Mai was not discovered to be a key mover behind the matter.
Reunited with Amidala
- "Ani…? My goodness, you've grown."
- ―Padmé Amidala to Anakin Skywalker, upon their reunion
- "You're asking me to be rational. That is something that I know I cannot do. Believe me, I wish I could just wish away my feelings, but I can't."
- ―Skywalker, to Amidala
Just one day after his twentieth birthday,[10] the bounty hunter Zam Wesell made an attempt on the life of Padmé Amidala, now the Senator of the Chommell sector. Skywalker was personally assigned to protect and escort Amidala back to her homeworld. To avoid looking conspicuous, the two traveled as refugees. Skywalker had not seen her in ten years, though he had thought about her almost daily since their parting at Naboo. His childhood fascination with her had turned into a powerful infatuation. In conversation, Skywalker revealed his affection for her, his frustration with Kenobi's training methods, a distrust of the political process, and his view of the need for one strong leader. Over a short time, his infatuation for her blossomed into something more: love. And soon Amidala reciprocated the feeling.[12]
At Amidala's lake retreat, the two lost their inhibitions and shared their first kiss. Both seemed entranced with the other despite their different social castes. However, Amidala eventually came to her senses, and while Skywalker was concerned with his feelings and living in the present moment—even suggesting they could keep their relationship a secret—Amidala was more concerned with duty and obligation. She had enough foresight to know their current situations would not allow for a relationship between them. Skywalker's pursuit of a romantic relationship with her was in violation of Jedi tradition, which held that although Jedi were not required to be celibate, they were to avoid attachments.[12]
Return to Tatooine
- "Why'd she have to die? Why couldn't I save her? I know I could have!"
"Sometimes there are things no one can fix. You're not all powerful, Ani."
"Well I should be! Someday I will be. I will be the most powerful Jedi ever! I promise you. I will even learn to stop people from dying!"
"Anakin…"
"It's all Obi-Wan's fault! He's jealous! He's holding me back!" - ―Anakin Skywalker and Amidala
Skywalker had been suffering from recurring nightmares about his mother, Shmi, for several months prior to meeting Amidala again; and, because of them, went against the spirit of his orders to protect Amidala by bringing her to Tatooine to find Shmi. Upon landing on Tatooine, Skywalker made his way straight for Watto's shop, where he discovered that a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars had freed and married his mother.[12]
While speaking with Lars, Anakin learned, to his horror, that Shmi had been abducted by Tusken Raiders. He immediately set out in pursuit of her on Owen Lars' swoop bike. That night, the young Jedi discovered the Tusken village beyond the B'Thazoshe Bridge, and slipped into the tent that contained his mother, locating her with his Jedi sense of Force empathy. Though he freed her from her bonds, it was too late: Battered, sleep-deprived, and dehydrated, Shmi Skywalker died in her son's arms, but not before regaining her consciousness and briefly seeing and speaking with him for the last time.[12]
Skywalker allowed the shock of her death to catalyze an explosion of his long-nursed anger, fear, and greed. He flew into a berserk rage, slaughtering all present in the camp without mercy—even, as he confessed to Amidala later, the women and children. A number of Jedi, including Yoda and the deceased Qui-Gon Jinn, sensed the shock of this massacre as well as Skywalker's powerful Force presence, which bordered on the dark side.[12]
When Skywalker told Amidala that he had killed the tribe, he justified his actions at first. Amidala was clearly troubled by what Skywalker had done, but had invested herself too much in him to be truly repulsed. She tried to soothe him with sympathy and told no one of Skywalker's hideous act. In his anger and sorrow, he rashly claimed that one day he would have the power to stop people from dying, and that Obi-Wan was jealous of his power, holding him back. He then expressed his hate for the Sand People before remembering that he was a Jedi, and he broke down in remorse for killing them. Amidala told him that his emotions made him human, but Skywalker responded that he was a Jedi and was better than that and should be above revenge.[12]
Battle of Geonosis
- "I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten my message."
"I retransmitted it just as you had requested, Master; then we decided to come and rescue you."
"Good job." - ―Anakin and Obi-Wan in the Geonosian execution arena
While still on Tatooine, Skywalker discovered that Kenobi had been taken hostage by the Geonosian-engineered Confederacy of Independent Systems's droid forces. He initially decided to honor Mace Windu's order to protect Amidala at all costs and to stay on Tatooine, the episode with his mother having caused him to lose confidence in himself. However, Amidala convinced him that rescuing his mentor was the right thing to do and they traveled to Geonosis.[12]
Once on the planet, Skywalker and Amidala infiltrated the droid foundries, but they were attacked by Geonosians, and Skywalker's lightsaber was caught in machinery and destroyed. The two were captured and sentenced to die in a gladiatorial execution arena. Faced with their impending fate, they finally confessed their love to one another and kissed for what they thought was the last time. Skywalker, Amidala, and Kenobi each faced ferocious arena beasts, but were able to escape them. Skywalker tamed the reek set to attack him but they were surrounded by droidekas.[12]
However, a team of Jedi led by Mace Windu attacked the droids gathering in the arena, and the three escaped. Skywalker took up a green lightsaber and fought the droids alongside Amidala. The Jedi remaining were herded into the center of the arena, having taken huge casualties despite killing Jango Fett. However, the newly discovered Clone Army arrived to rescue the Jedi, and the trio were airlifted out of the arena. The clone troopers allowed all three of them to escape and fight in the ensuing battle.[12]
Skywalker and Kenobi pursued Count Dooku, the mastermind of the Confederacy and, unbeknownst to them, a Sith Lord. They gave chase across the vast Geonosian sands, where he led them to a CIS-owned hangar. Once they caught up with Dooku, Skywalker, against the better advice of his Master and with a headstrong attitude, foolishly charged the Sith. It was the Padawan's undoing: Dooku unleashed a powerful barrage of Force lightning on Skywalker, knocking the youth unconscious and leaving Kenobi to face Dooku alone. Kenobi put up a valiant fight; however, his skills proved no match for the more powerful and experienced Dooku, and he was soon incapacitated. As Skywalker recovered, he witnessed Dooku raising his lightsaber to deliver the final blow against the fallen Kenobi.[12]
Skywalker, calling upon the Force, leaped into the path of Dooku's lightsaber, blocking it with his own, saving his Master's life in the process. Taking up his fallen master's weapon, Skywalker unleashed a flurry of attacks, which caught Dooku off guard at first. However, despite the tactical advantage the second blade granted, it was short-lived. Without more than basic training in Jar'Kai, Skywalker's use of two blades simply was not good enough to pass through Dooku's guard, and the Sith eventually managed to destroy the green blade, leaving Skywalker with only his blue. At that point, Dooku's adeptness and greater experience with Makashi allowed him to regain the upper hand, and, despite holding his own for much of the duel, each attempt at disorienting and thwarting the Count failed. His prodigy in Jedi training were impressive, however, now meeting another older, more experienced Jedi prodigy, one which had specialized in lightsaber dueling and rivalled the Order's most powerful echelon overwhelmed the Padawan. Skywalker lost the battle— unknowingly exposing himself and lost his right arm—to Dooku. After being rescued by Yoda, Skywalker, Amidala, and Kenobi were transported back to the Jedi Temple for healing.[12]
Marriage to Padmé Amidala
- "One day they'd get some lovesick Jedi doing something crazy, whatever the training was supposed to knock out of them, and it wouldn't end well."
- ―RC-1136, speaking of Jedi and love
After Skywalker's forearm was replaced with a mechno-arm[12] crafted by the Chief Healer Vokara Che, he remained in the Halls of Healing as he grew accustomed to the replacement. Meanwhile, Kenobi was sent by Master Yoda to forcefully petition Amidala to end her relationship with the Chosen One. Lying, she agreed to the request, yet asked to formally accomplish it and speak with Anakin herself. She suggested having Skywalker escort her back to Naboo, and said that she would end their romantic relationship there.
However, the escort was a ploy, and Skywalker married Amidala, even though that meant breaking the Jedi Code; but Anakin had gone past caring, and swiftly set the marriage at Varykino on Naboo, in a secret ceremony performed by a Naboo holyman. C-3PO and his counterpart, R2-D2, were the only witnesses. The newly married couple would later struggle to keep their illicit relationship secret.[12]
The Clone Wars
Early battles
- "You are strong and wise, Anakin, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know, and you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi
With the onset of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker started on his way to becoming a legendary hero. He was an unparalleled starfighter pilot, flying missions over several worlds, including Kamino, Balamak, and Virujansi, solidifying his reputation. He even earned the seldom-heard title of Tan in recognition of his exceptional piloting skills. He custom-modified his Delta-7 Aethersprite starfighter—naming it Azure Angel as a tribute to his wife—into a unique and deadly vessel that time and again outperformed any ship on the battlefield. He also proved his worth outside the cockpit, destroying the ancient Sith weapon known as the Dark Reaper[64] and helping to drive back a Separatist invasion of Coruscant that even breached the Jedi Temple itself.[65] Skywalker also captured more than half of the prisoners of the Ghost Prison during the War.[66]
War molded Skywalker into a man and honed his combat ability, but it continued to nourish his ego. While Skywalker, dubbed the "Hero With No Fear," had no fear for his own life, he was terrified for the lives of his Master, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, the troops under his authority, and even R2-D2, who accompanied Skywalker whenever he could. It was difficult to rein in Skywalker as he increasingly had trouble following the strict doctrine of the Jedi Code, especially when the Order itself was complicit in ambiguous moral acts by waging a full-scale war. But, above all, Skywalker feared for his beloved Padmé Amidala. He wrote to her whenever he could, and also tried to meet with her on several occasions, but because of their duties they saw each other very rarely. And the few times they did, Amidala was usually in danger, which fueled his protectiveness for her and his fear.[67][68]
The Dark Reaper
- "You go to the Map Room when you are troubled by something. Do you want to talk about it?"
"What is the good of talking?"
"It can be very good … Anakin, I see that the past [weeks][69] have marked you. I am your Master. I am here to help you in any way I can."
"I have seen things I wish I had not seen. I did not think so many Jedi could die. I did not think a once-great Jedi Master could fall so far."
"Count Dooku's fall has troubled us all…"
"We missed him on Raxus Prime, but we won't here. If we kill him, we kill the Separatist movement." - ―Master Kenobi and apprentice Skywalker, antecedent to their diplomatic mission to Null to persuade the members of the Station 88 planetary alliance to side with the Republic, and to reject Dooku's overtures that they side with the Confederacy and give up their gateway-spaceport to the Mid Rim star systems.
One month after the start of the Clone Wars, Skywalker and Kenobi were involved in an operation to stop Count Dooku from obtaining the Dark Reaper, a powerful superweapon of mass destruction constructed during the Great Sith War and lost after its conclusion. Skywalker and Kenobi helped to evacuate the Republic outpost on Rhen Var and then went to Raxus Prime where Dooku had found the Force Harvester—a major part of the Dark Reaper. After his encounter with Dooku on Raxus Prime, Skywalker was captured and sent to Alaris Prime, to be executed by the Force Harvester, the power source of the ancient Sith weapon, which drained the life essence or Force from all living things within its range. But he escaped and traveled to Rhen Var. On Rhen Var, Skywalker fought his way to the tomb of Ulic Qel-Droma for information on how to withstand the effects of the Dark Reaper and the Harvester. Shortly after the Dark Reaper was revived on Thule, Skywalker led an attack on the capital city of Kesiak and destroyed the Reaper using his TX-130S fighter tank. Although Skywalker did manage to destroy the Reaper, the knowledge he gained from Qel-Droma caused him to act more arrogantly toward Kenobi, and indirectly led him to take a greater step toward the path to the dark side of the Force.[64]
The Battle of Kamino
At one point near the begining of the war the separatists found out about the location of the clone army in Kamino, preparing an attack to cripple The Republic's forces. Anakin was part of the Jedi called in to plan a counteroffensive against the CIS. When arriving Skywalker had a vision of Obi-Wan's starfighter being shot down, which distrurbed him.[71]
To Skywalker's surprise, his master's plan included him staying away. Anaking was baffled, as he was sure he was the jedi's best pilot, Kenobi explained that his reasoning for his decision was the fact that he had noticed his Padawan's mind seemed to constantly somewhere else, which prompted Skywalker into remember many of the recent events. Anakin tried to take his mind of the conversation by trying to fix a broken small droid, when he failed to do so, fellow Jedi Aayla Secura offered to help him and told him that maybe he was trying too hard and that maybe things weren't always that simple. Kenobi the entered the room and claimed that he changed his mind and that Anakin was their best fighter.[71]
Skywalker joined the Republic's forces into repelling the separatist's army, suffering some loses including Master Kossex. Anakin then saw to his horror how his vision came true as Obi-Wann's ship was shot down while he was chasing a Troop Convoy. Kenobi however was able to get out of his ship and stay afloat on the wreckage, Skywalker tried to rescue his master but they ended up being attacked by the planet's fauna which caused Anakin's starfighter to be eaten by a creature, fortunately, Taun We then appeared and picked them up to bring them back to the clone facility on Kamino.[71]
Both Jedi later came in to save Master Shaak Ti and the lone surviving ARK Trooper on the facility. While at first Skywalker was skeptical at the clone seeming insubordiance, he did grew to respect him for his cold headedness, even following his directions to deal with the droids and protect the new batch of clones.[71]
Battle of Ohma-D'un
When the planet Naboo lost contact with a Gungan colony on one of Naboo's moons, Ohma-D'un, Skywalker was sent along with a squad of four Jedi and the same Advanced Recon Clone he met on Kamino to investigate. He lamented to himself he needed to stay away from Padme for so long but understood his duty as jedi was more important at the moment. Anakin then found out that his old droid C-3PO was also sent along with them on the mission, Skywalker commented on C-3PO still rusted appearance thinking the Queen should had already given him more polished coverings by then.[72]
They quickly found what had become of the Gungan colony. Every single Gungan had died of a mysterious chemical weapon. Kenobi said he could feel the force itself hemorraging from the disease while Skywalker couldn't feel anything, according to Obi-Wan due to the fact that Qui-Gon didn't train Anakin enough, Skywalker then lashed out against the droids, destroying them with his lightsaber. They were soon attacked by Ohma-D'un super battle droids, B2 super battle droids and the bounty hunter Durge the latter of which they had several problems fending off. Skywalker suggested warning the Naboo of the thread but Obi-Wan told him to go find and save the hostages instead, sending him along with the ARK trooper.[72]
They were able to defeat most of the droids and later learn from some of the captives that the confederancy was plotting to crash the spice miners transport into Theed: Killing half the Naboo and passing the Blame. On the way to the camp Skywalker asked the clone if he had a name, but he only replied his serial number was all he had and needed, Skywalker commented that he wasn't going to just call him that and so he took the name of the clone's batch letter and his designation and gave him the nickname: Alpha, starting his habit of giving names to the clones that served under or alongside him, Alpha replied that he didn't actually care as long as Anakin could communicate with him properly and watch his back.[72]
Anakin distracted the droids while Alpha planted the explosives charges to destroy the transports. Although they succeeded they were soon attacked by an enraged Durge shouting at them that they ruined his mission, Skywalker proceeded to have a rematch against the Bounty Hunter and using his own weapons against him, together they were able to fend him off and force him to retreat. Alpha then suggested to go back and help Anakin's master, saying he might not have very long, they arrived just in time to save Kenobi and Zule from Asajj Ventress who was forced to fall back due to being outnumbered, Durge came back and picked her up, meanwhile she promised to battle the Jedi again. Skywalker expressed concern about what would happen to Zule after she lost her master and also wished to visit Naboo after the mission, before leaving the moon behind.[72]
Battle of Muunilinst and Duel on Yavin 4
- "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done."
"Come, Padawan. Your fall will be my ascension to the Sith." - ―Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress
At the request of the Supreme Chancellor, Anakin was made a commander and was charged with leading the Republic's space forces against the Separatist fleet in orbit above Muunilinst, homeworld of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, a pivotal member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, during the Republic's attack on the planet. His piloting talents and leadership of a group of clone pilots led to a victory.[13]
A mysterious vessel caught his eye that wiped out Blue Squadron during the fray,[13] and he was drawn from the battle after determining that the Force was with the pilot, despite Obi-Wan Kenobi's admonition and suspicions that the fighter was leading him into a trap. He followed the enigmatic Fanblade starfighter through an intense chase through the streets of Muunilinst's capital city, back to space[74] and through hyperspace to Yavin 4. Beneath the jungle canopy and amongst the remains of ancient Massassi temples, a mysterious assassin slew all the clones sent by Kenobi to follow Skywalker and destroyed the Azure Angel. Skywalker came face to face with the fanblade pilot, the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, and dueled with her. Their battle progressed into and onto the temples of Yavin 4.[73][75]
In the end, Skywalker was disarmed by Asajj, but was able to defeat her by taking one of her curved-hilt lightsabers, and repeatedly striking her, having brief visions of Jinn, Kenobi, and Yoda deeply troubled by what he was doing. His strikes caused the temple stone beneath her to crumble, and she fell through the ledge into a chasm apparently to her death, but she would escape. As he stood victorious, Skywalker gave a loud yell of rage, knowing that he had won. This had only been accomplished, though, by tapping into his anger.[76]
Skywalker and Kenobi then participated in the Mission to Nivek, where they destroyed an entire droid construction facility,[77] and the Battle of Terra Sool, which was won thanks to Skywalker's skills.[78]
Battle on Skye
Kenobi temporarily took Halagad Ventor as a Padawan in addition to Skywalker, following the demise of Ventor's former master. He and Skywalker soon became friends and as a sign of their trust, they engaged in the Concordance of Fealty, a Jedi tradition where they temporarily swapped lightsabers as a sign of trust. They traveled to the planet of Skye, where they fought against the genetic terrorist Zeta Magnus. They foiled the terrorist's plot that threatened the planet with total destruction. Following the battle, Skywalker discovered the thirteen-year old S'kytri Kharys, who proved to be strong in the Force. He wished to take her back with them for training, but Kenobi and Ventor believed she was too old to start on the path of a Jedi and refused to take her. However, Skywalker promised Kharys that he would return one day to train her.[21]
Rise of the Cortosis Battle Droids
Ten months after the Battle of Geonosis,[source?] a report reached the Jedi Council that a new type of battle droid was being deployed on Tatooine. Skywalker was sent to investigate and contact the Republic spy Raala Ponchar. However, he was captured by Aurra Sing and one of Dooku's Dark Acolytes, Saato, and imprisoned in Jabba's palace. He managed to escape, rescue Ponchar and kill Saato before learning that Count Dooku had infiltrated Coruscant with a small force on a mission to destroy the Jedi Archives in the Jedi Temple. Skywalker returned to Coruscant and killed another Dark Acolyte, Trenox, but was delayed long enough for Dooku to steal at least one Holocron and escape. Skywalker then traveled to Metalorn to stop production of the Cortosis battle droids. There he single-handedly defeated bounty hunter Vandalor, Dark Acolytes Karoc and Vinoc, and even a Doppelgänger of Dooku; captured Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor; and destroyed the facility.[65]
Battle of Jabiim
On the rain-drenched world of Jabiim, during the battle that took place there, Skywalker came into his own. As Kenobi and Alpha were thought to have been killed by a Separatist attack, Skywalker led a cadre of similarly "orphaned" Padawans. The loss of his Master and the horrors on the battlefield of Jabiim would have lasting effect on his life; and because of it he became even more fiercely independent and more frustrated by his failings. However, in the thick of the battle he received an urgent transmission from Palpatine to personally evacuate the planet. This ploy may have been made to save Skywalker from being killed on the battlefront.[source?]
Respecting the Chancellor's power and friendship, Skywalker complied with his wishes, though it was hard for him to desert his friends on the final front. Before leaving, the thirteen-year old Padawan Aubrie Wyn gave Skywalker her Master's holocron to return to the temple. Sadly, in the following five days as Skywalker left the front, all of the members of the Padawan Pack were killed in action. When the transports arrived, only a few had made it through the storms. Skywalker was faced with a hard and painful decision—as the last surviving Jedi on Jabiim, he ordered the evacuation of the planet. Enraged, Captain Orliss Gillmunn pulled a blaster on Skywalker, who reacted instinctively with Force choke, strangling the officer. Such horrific acts were becoming far too natural for him; it was the first time he had used the Force in this manner but it would certainly not be the last. Gillmunn, leader of the disenchanted Jabiimi loyalists, swore to never forget this betrayal as the Loyalist Jabiimi was left to their fate. Once again, Skywalker had failed, and the battle for Jabiim was lost. His actions during the battle would spark the subjugation of Jabiim nearly twenty years later, where his children were captured by rogue rebels.[source?]
Two days after the evacuation, the wounded were taken to New Holstice, where Skywalker would again meet A'Sharad Hett, the Tusken Jedi, and his apprentice, Bhat Jul, who practiced as healers.[source?]
One of the wounded was Master Sora Mobari, who was injured in an explosion by Ithorian terrorists and who was not responding to treatments. Skywalker, unable to accept even one more Jedi lost, tried a different method—he used the same Force technique that he used to crushed Gillmunn's windpipe, and used it to massage Mobari's heart. Hett was horrified, so he tried to reason with Skywalker, saying that she was suffering needlessly. Skywalker insisted she would live, but in spite of his efforts she succumbed to her injuries. Skywalker was unable to accept that he could not save people from death; this experience would reinforce his desire to save the people he loved from dying.[source?]
Hett later showed Skywalker a memorial created for all the Jedi killed since the birth of the Republic. It was composed of supposedly immortal memory moths that whispered the names of the Jedi over and over again. Skywalker released a few months for all members of the Padawan Pack—Kass Tod, Mak Lotor, Tae Diath, Elora Sund, Vaabesh, Windo Nend, Zule Xiss, and Aubrie Wyn—and his own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. As Hett released one for Sora Morbari, he reassured Skywalker that she was severed from the Living Force days ago and nothing could have stopped her from dying. Because of his Master's apparent death, Skywalker came under the tutelage of Ki-Adi-Mundi as a campaign began on the world of Aargonar.[source?]
Battle of Aargonar
On the desert world of Aargonar, an unimportant world, the Republic and Confederacy fought; the lines were drawn. During one of the skirmishes, Skywalker, Hett, and his apprentice, Bhat Jul, were lost behind enemy lines.[source?]
Jul had been seriously injured from a crash, and as he lay dying, Skywalker tried to use the Force to heal him, but it was to no avail; Jul died from the fatal wounds. Skywalker, frustrated with the Nikto's death, chastised Hett, saying that had they been with him, they might have been able to save him. Hett replied that he had felt Jul become one with the Force, arguing that Jul had known that he was there with him in the Force, and that his physical presence would have made no difference.[source?]
As Skywalker and Hett began to work their way back to their army, Skywalker's prejudice against the Tuskens for killing his mother was beginning to demonstrate itself against the Tusken Jedi. He was insulted and angered when Hett spoke of the similarities between them: coming to Coruscant later in their lives, being raised on a desert planet, and having known only one parent. Skywalker's fury was intensified when Hett commented that Skywalker would have made a good Tusken.[source?]
When they reached a Separatist station, they began working on transport to return to their own base. So they could hijack a transport, Hett gave Skywalker the power cells from his and the Tusken Jedi's father's lightsaber to get the transport moving. That completed, they started the search for weapons to arm themselves. As the hours rolled by, Skywalker began to relive the memories surrounding his mother's death. When Separatist guards located the Padawan, who was slipping toward the dark side, he mistook them for Tuskens, and, in a fit of rage, slaughtered them all. In a blood haze, Skywalker turned on Hett, but the Tusken Jedi managed to disarm him and talk some sense into him.[source?]
Hett told Skywalker that, as a Tusken, he understood the vehement desire to take revenge, but because of his training as a Jedi he had learned that vengeance was not theirs to take. The Tusken Jedi also knew the lure of the dark side, knowing it needed to be avoided. After recounting to Hett his painful memories of his mother's death, Skywalker remembered that his mother's death and the slaughter that had followed it was something he had never told his old master, Kenobi.[source?]
Seeing the turmoil the boy was in, Hett concluded that if they were to survive and get along together, Skywalker must see him as a Jedi, and not a Tusken Raider. Hett removed his mask, surprising Skywalker, who saw that he was totally Human. He insisted that he was Tusken at heart, but also wholly a Jedi. Skywalker apologized to him, finally seeing Hett as an ally instead of an old foe. The two survived the trip back to the Republic lines.[source?]
Hett, contemplating the episode, decided to have people see him first as a Jedi, then as a Tusken. He also never told anyone else of Skywalker's secret, insisting that it was his burden and that Skywalker would have to face the repercussions of what he had done, believing that Skywalker would tell his master about the massacre, himself. Skywalker never did.[source?]
Not long afterward, Skywalker discovered that his master was indeed alive and had only been captured by Asajj, and was soon joyfully reunited with Kenobi, who had escaped from captivity.[source?]
Battle of Zaadja
The Battle of Zaadja was one of many emotional milestones for Anakin Skywalker, who increasingly encountered difficulties with the sacrifices he witnessed. Acting as a diversion, Kenobi and Skywalker led the Third Systems Army onto the field of battle to draw the Separatist forces away from the droid factory on Zaadja; concurrently, the young Jedi Tohno was tasked to infiltrate the droid factory and destroy it using military-grade explosives. After she planted all explosives, Tohno was ambushed by Geonosians. When Skywalker rushed to help her, Tohno realized that she would not survive her mission. She was able to convince him that if he came after her, it would cause needless casualties among the troopers of the Third System Army. Though he was reluctant to accept it, Skywalker agreed with Tohno's decision to end the Zaadja mission with as little loss of life as possible. Nonetheless, Skywalker would continue to struggle with the need for so many young, even promising, Jedi to sacrifice themselves throughout the course of the war.[79]
Shadows of the past
- "It has been... Difficult, Obi-Wan is my master-- and my friend. I hate lying to him!"
"I know, I know. We have gone against everything we have ever been taugh-- against what it means to be a Jedi...
"But it doesn't feel wrong!" - ―Anakin Skywalker and Nejaa Halcyon have a heart to heart
Late during the first year of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker was being forced to stay back in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in order to complete his training, it was at this time he befriended the Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon, who later became his sparring partner. Meanwhile a Separatists batallion lead by Admiral Pors Tonith, prepares to launch a large-scale invasion on the Planet Praesitlyn, which was currently a valuable Communication Center for The Republic. The attack is successful an Tonith takes the Planet, leaving very few survivors and taking many hostages. Chief Administrator Reija Momen is able to send a distress signal to The Republic by tricking the Muun admiral, thus giving the Council the opportunity to act.[80]
Halcyon is appointed to lead a reinforcement run in the planet due to an insurrection having recently broken out and decides to take Anakin along for the mission. Halcyon also introduces Anakin to Grudo, a Rodian soldier that he knew in the past, Grudo and Anakin also became friends. While on their trip, Nejaa walks in on Skywalker while his was writing a letter to his wife, they had a conversation about it and Nejaa reveals that he too broke the Jedi Code years ago and had secretly had a family hidden away in Coruscant, both men sympathize with each other and agree to keep their secrets.[80]
The Republic Forces successfully land on Praesitlyn and start driving back Pors's forces, helping the rebellion's leader, Slayke and helping free both Odie Subu and Erk H'Arman, Grudo is later killed by one of the survivors due to a misunderstanding but Anakin still manages to speak with him before he dies. Skywalker then devised a plan to distract the main separatists forces meanwhile he and his clone commandos entered the main Communications Center, the operation is a success but Reija is murdered by a blaster shot from a battle droid while trying to shield Anakin, driving him to recall his horrible experience when watching his Mother dying, as Momen resembled her very much. Seething with rage at the alderaanian's death Skywalker came close to the Dark Side and nearly killed Tonith and his guards but was then stoped by the voice of his late Master Qui-Gon Jinn.[80]
Separatists reinforcements arrive from hyperspace through a Trade Federation capital ship, requested by Commander Asajj Ventress and the Republic's army are forced to repel them. Anakin tries a suicide run similar to the stunt he tried during the Battle of Naboo/Legends, however Skywalker managed to activate his starship's hyperspace driver in time and escaped the trap.[80]
This amazing victory for the Republic drives the Council to reconsider Anakin's status withing the order and finally agree to bestow him with the rank of Jedi Knight.[80]
Knight of the Republic
- "Step forward, Padawan. Anakin Skywalker, by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, dub thee I do… Jedi… Knight of the Republic."
- ―Yoda
After his heroic actions at the Battle of Praesitlyn and upon returning from the Mission to Vjun,[82] Skywalker was endowed with the title of Jedi Knight, despite the fact that he never went through the traditional Jedi Trials before being Knighted. It was a controversial decision; Kit Fisto and Ki-Adi-Mundi openly and zealously supported him, while Oppo Rancisis and Adi Gallia questioned whether Skywalker was mature enough. But in the end, the decision fell to Yoda, who decided to have him Knighted in a secret ceremony. Skywalker later sent his Padawan braid, which had been ritualistically severed by Yoda, to Amidala as a late devotion gift.[81]
Battle of Rendili and aftermath
Shortly after his knighthood, Skywalker participated in the Battle of Rendili. His idea was to use his starfighter to place concussion charges on critical weak points of the Rendili Dreadnaught-class cruisers. Although Jedi Master Saesee Tiin objected to it, Skywalker's pride could not let him pass up any chance for a victory. Without permission, he proceeded to carry out his plan during the battle. It was a success, and helped achieve a Republic victory, fueling his ego and self-importance. After the battle, Skywalker returned to Coruscant, where he testified before the council regarding Quinlan Vos' involvement in the battle, helping the former Jedi regain his position in the order.[source?]
Immediately afterward, Skywalker journeyed to the Senate Building to meet Amidala, but as she was not there, he gratefully received a holographic message from one of her handmaidens. Traveling to the Galactic City's industrial sector to listen to the recording privately, he was ambushed by Asajj Ventress.[source?]
Asajj eavesdropped on Skywalker as he listened to the secret holodisc recording, thus discovering his relationship with Amidala. She destroyed the holodisc, and taunted Skywalker with threats to kill Amidala, after which the two engaged in a vicious lightsaber duel. It was during this battle that Skywalker received a vertical scar which ran above and below his right eye, and two small scars on his left cheek, from her lightsaber.[83]
Despite being painfully blemished, Skywalker persevered. Ventress had made the mistake of underestimating the young Jedi Knight's fierce desire to protect the ones he loved from harm, and, during the battle, Skywalker used the Force to entangle her in electrical cables and send her plummeting to the depths of Coruscant. As on Yavin IV, she survived the fall, but was too weak to pursue Skywalker.[source?]
Sometime after becoming a Knight, Skywalker and Kenobi were confronted by bounty hunters on an unknown planet. The two managed to escape on a swoop thanks to Skywalker's piloting and ingenuity, as he used the lightsaber's battery to give the swoop more speed.[84]
Skywalker also rescued fellow Jedi Serra Keto from the Separatist droids on a space station somewhere in the Outer Rim, after he received a distress call from her.[85]
On a heavily forested planet, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were confronted by a battle droid fleeing from something. Instead of fighting, the droid recommended that the Jedi flee, as well. They soon discovered that the whole planet was full of dangerous monsters, which attacked them. However, Kenobi and Skywalker managed to survive.[86]
Mission to Christophsis
When Senator Bail Organa's relief force became trapped on Christophsis, Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Admiral Wullf Yularen were sent to break the Separatist blockade and free Organa. Leading the initial assault, Skywalker was quickly repelled by the Separatists' new and devious tactics and rendezvoused with Kenobi behind one of Christophsis' moons to regroup. His former Master lent him use of one of the Republic's newest weapons, a stealth ship to sneak behind enemy lines. Before leaving for the mission, Skywalker was approached by Yularen, who volunteered himself for the mission, citing past experience with their dangerous foe, Admiral Trench. Zipping past Trench's flagship, Skywalker unleashed a torrent of missiles, which were quickly absorbed by the admiral's shields. Trench sent back a volley of his own shots, which were rendered inefficient as Skywalker disappeared under his ship's capabilities of remaining undetectable. At an efficient stalemate, Trench contacted Skywalker through a general hail, attempting to goad the Jedi into attacking. When the admiral revealed that he had dealt with stealth ships previously, Skywalker guessed that he had defeated the ship through use of a magnetic signature. Using the same knowledge against Trench, Skywalker allowed the Separatist to send out homing missiles, then skimmed along the bridge of his ship, sending the missiles slamming into the Separatist flagship and knocking Trench out of commission. With the blockade broken, Republic aid was able to reach Organa, and a lasting bond between Skywalker and the stalwart Yularen was forged.[87]
Battle on Christophsis
- "This way is clear!"
"How did you get over here?"
"I improvised." - ―Skywalker and Kenobi, as Skywalker enters the room to help him against Separatist forces
When Christophsis was invaded by the Separatists, they put out a call for help to the Republic, and Skywalker and Kenobi were quickly dispatched to aid the planet, along with Commander Cody and Captain Rex. They set up defense in two towers and prepared as the droid forces advanced, seemingly unaware of the Jedi's presence. However, the droid army suddenly split up, and before Kenobi knew what was happening, droids arrived in his tower and started to attack. Skywalker called Hawk for an evacuation, and he and Rex proceeded to aid Kenobi. They managed to escape, and also managed to steal a tactical droid's head.[88]
However, the tactical droid did nothing but confirm that the Separatists knew of the Jedi's location. Kenobi suspected that someone in their squad had turned suit and betrayed the Republic. Kenobi and Skywalker instructed Cody and Rex to find the traitor while they went on a secret mission behind enemy lines. On the way, they discovered that an increasing number of droids were watching them but not attempting to fire, and Skywalker concluded that they were being led into a trap. Upon arrival, they encountered Asajj Ventress, and the three engaged in a duel. The Jedi managed to knock Ventress down, but she merely used her lightsabers to cut through the floor, pushing the Jedi a floor down. Ventress taunted them before leading them to see a complete army of droids preparing to attack the city. The Jedi escaped on STAPs, and Ventress ordered General Whorm Loathsom to march on the city before leaving.[88]
Upon returning to the Republic base, Skywalker and Kenobi discovered that Rex and Cody had found Slick to be the traitor. Skywalker questioned why Slick would betray his brothers, and Slick replied that it was the Jedi who kept his brothers enslaved. Cody and Rex, however, said that if he loved his brothers, he would not put them at risk, and Slick was taken away to lockup.[88]
Skywalker and Kenobi managed to fend off the first wave of droids, and sent their shuttle back for reinforcements. A second wave of droids soon advanced, and while Kenobi and Cody drew the droids' attention, Skywalker, Rex and Torrent Company took out the advancing tri-droids. This, along with the Republic's use of heavy cannons, forced Loathsom to retreat.[89]
Anakin's apprentice
- "Ahsoka, a very wise Jedi once said, "Nothing happens by accident." It is the will of the Force that you are at my side. I just want to keep you there in one piece."
- ―Anakin reassuring his Padawan
After the Confederacy's retreat, a shuttle arrived with a young Togruta Jedi named Ahsoka Tano. She had a message from the Jedi Council to get back to Coruscant immediately, and had also been assigned as Skywalker's new Padawan, much to Skywalker's shock and dismay. After unsuccessfully trying to get the message from Yoda, Skywalker went to check on Rex at the lookout post, taking his new Padawan with him.[89]
Unfortunately for the Republic forces, Loathsom had activated an expanding deflector shield with his armies advancing behind it. Skywalker and Tano managed to sneak behind the shield by hiding beneath a box. After Tano bumped into a droideka and alerted retail droids, the two still managed to destroy the shield generator, allowing Republic artillery to finish off the droids. The Separatists on Christophsis surrendered to Kenobi, and Skywalker finally accepted his new Padawan.[89]
Rescuing a Hutt
- "You've got that "we're in trouble" look."
"There's a look?"
"You can't miss it." - ―Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker aboard the Twilight
Skywalker and Tano were reassigned on another vital mission: to rescue Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, from the planet Teth. On Teth, pursuant of their objective, along with Captain Rex and Torrent Company, Skywalker scaled a high mesa under Separatist fire to reach a clifftop monastery. After destroying the droids in the courtyard, Skywalker and his men secured and searched the monastery for the Huttlet. Skywalker and his Padawan found the Huttlet on the detention level. Discovering that Rotta was severely ill, they put the Huttlet in a backpack. After contacting his former master, Skywalker and his men were attacked by droid reinforcements under Dooku's assassin, Asajj Ventress, who kidnapped and had been holding the Huttlet captive. After closing the door, Anakin was convinced by his Padawan to find another way out of the monastery. After R2-D2 found a backdoor landing platform, the pair escaped from Ventress. The two Jedi then took a beat-up spice freighter, the Twilight, and tried to dock on the Spirit of the Republic. However, when its hangar was destroyed by Separatist fire, they were forced to take the Twilight all the way to Tatooine. Rotta was saved from near death by some medicine on board the Twilight.[89]
The Twilight was shot down over Tatooine by two IG-100 MagnaGuards in Rogue-class starfighters and forced to crash-land. The Jedi split up, with Skywalker acting as a decoy for his young apprentice. Dooku, who had been negotiating with Jabba, intercepted Skywalker and sent MagnaGuards to intercept Tano so that they would not reach the Hutt and reveal Dooku's Sith deceptions.[89]
Having learned humility and more combat since their pervious encounter, Skywalker's engagement with Dooku was much more even. Though Dooku's applied Dun Möch/Legends through Skywalker's tormented feelings to his homeworld, however, Skywalker remained level-headed. Even after showing his Padawn's struggle against the MganaGuards, he retorted that the Count underestimated her. After a fierce duel on the Dune Sea, Skywalker stole Dooku's speeder and flew to Jabba's palace to save Tano from his wrath. While Jabba was pleased to see his son returned, he still ordered both Skywalker and Tano to be executed. Fortunately, the intervention of Senator Amidala, who had found that Dooku had been working with Jabba's uncle Ziro, saved the negotiations. Furious that Dooku had deceived him, Jabba permitted the Republic to use Hutt hyperspace routes into the Outer Rim, and asked the Jedi to bring Dooku to justice for his crimes against the hutts.[89]
Slaves of the Republic
- "He was raised as a slave, Ahsoka.[…]Ever since I've known Skywalker, he's struggled to put that part of his life behind him. He must get past it eventually. Perhaps now is the time."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi
Skywalker, Kenobi and Tano later traveled to Kiros, a Togruta colony world under the control of the Separatists, where they learned that the whole city was full of thermal bombs. While Kenobi, "negotiated" with Commander Xerius Ugg, Skywalker and Tano disabled all the bombs around the city, except the one near Ugg's escape ship. Afterward, they discovered that the entire planet's population had disappeared. Meanwhile, Ugg's computers indicated that he was talking to someone in the Zygerrian system, a system of slave traders.[91]
Skywalker and Kenobi then contacted Yoda, who informed them that according to the Separatists, all of Kiros's inhabitants had been killed. He also told them about the nature of the Zygerrians. Remembering his past as a slave, Skywalker ordered his men to set the course for the Zygerrian system immediately, but Kenobi proposed another plan. In order to get the exact information about slaves, they hid in the remains of the former homeworld of Shi'kar until a Zygerrian slave vessel arrived. Posing as the slave traders, Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano and a group of clones infiltrated it, but because of Skywalker's "aggressive negotiations" a firefight ensued, during which Tano was separated from the rest of the group and captured by the Zygerrians, while Skywalker, Kenobi and the clones along with a group of captured slave traders were sealed from her on the Twilight. Zygerrians tried to smash the Jedi's ship in the asteroids, but Skywalker managed to disable their engines. Tano soon contacted her master and told that it was a part of her plan, but the Zygerrian commander Onyx intercepted her transmission and proposed the Jedi to trade Tano for his people being held on the Twilight. Using the space suits and rocket jets, Skywalker, Kenobi and their men flew into the open space, but were attacked by a creature that Onyx had released. Meanwhile, Tano with the help of the Force opened the rear airlock. Skywalker and Kenobi killed the beast and breached the ship, capturing Onyx, who revealed that the queen of Zygerria was going to have a grand auction, that would change the slave trade in the galaxy forever.[90]
Soon, posing as slave traders, Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano and Captain CT-7567—nicknamed "Rex"—infiltrated the auction and tried to rescue the Togrutas[92] However, they ended up being caught by the Zygerrians and becoming slaves themselves.[93]
Skywalker was left in service of Queen Scintel, Tano was imprisoned on Zygerria, and Kenobi and Rex were transferred along with the Togrutas to the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub on the planet Kadavo. Freeing himself through the help of R2, Skywalker freed Tano and went to interrogate the Queen of the whereabouts of his Jedi Master and Clone Captain. To his surprise Dooku had already delt with the Queen and pierced Dooku's threat to end Scintel's life by saying he could not care less about a slaver. Dooku then ignited his lightsaber and Anakin could only use a shock whip in defense. Qucikly disarmed, Dooku then unleashed a surge of Force lightning and relished in the sadistic violence. As more guards appeared, Dooku framed the Queen's death on Skywalker's hands, who took the dying Zygerrian and escaped. Learning of his friends location, the Queen apologized for her words as she were just as much of a slave to Dooku as Skywalker was to the Jedi Order. Skywalker and his Padawan escaped from the Zygerrians and headed for Kadavo to rescue Kenobi, CT-7567, and the Togrutas, who had been transferred to the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub on the planet. Fearing that the liberation of the slaves could prove him a liar—as he had spread word that the Jedi had eradicated Kiros's population—the Confederate leader Count Dooku sent his assassin, Asajj Ventress, alongside General Grievous, to kill everyone at the Kadavo facility.[94]
After both the Republic and the Confederate forces arrived at Kadavo, a battle ensued on and above the planet. While Grievous's fleet battled the Republic Venator-class Star Destroyers, Ventress led a squadron of Hyena-class bombers to destroy the Labor Processing Hub. Hoping that the Separatists would spare him if he killed the Togrutas himself, the facility head—the Keeper—tried to dump the slaves into the lava but was prevented from doing so by Kenobi and CT-7567. Soon, Republic reinforcements arrived, forcing the Confederate fleet to retreat. Ventress, however, chose to continue the fight alone and made a last ditch attempt to kill the Jedi with her starship, the Trident, but was repelled by the Republic V-19 Torrent starfighters. Having won the battle, the Republic returned the people of Kiros back to their home.[95]
The Malevolence Crisis
- "Ever since I've known you, you've been playing with droids."
"I used to put them together. Now, I only take them apart." - ―Skywalker and Amidala aboard the Malevolence
Later, Skywalker and Tano were with their task force in the Bith system protecting the staging area there. Skywalker was then contacted by Master Plo Koon who had tracked the Separatist mystery weapon in the Abregado system. Master Koon asked Anakin for reinforcement, but Anakin had to ask the Jedi Council for approval. Skywalker then lost contact with Master Koon. Skywalker and Tano then briefed the council on Master Koon's last known location, but surmised that Koon's fleet was destroyed like the others. Though Skywalker was preparing a rescue mission, the council wanted to reassign his task force to protect their supply lines. Despite this, Skywalker and his Padawan went to rescue Plo Koon, when he got stranded in an escape pod in the Abregado system with a small group of clone troopers. Only Tano's ability to sense Master Koon through the Force kept Skywalker from giving up on him after an unsuccessful search, as well as the fact that she grabbed the controls of the Twilight and began piloting it herself. She found Master Koon and his clones and rescued them. Koon informed them that the "secret weapon" that the Separatists were using was an ion cannon that rendered their ships defenseless. At that point the ship passed by, forcing them to shut down all systems before it could detect them. They, however, forgot to shut off the medical droid, which was detected by the Malevolence, which responded by firing the ion cannon. The Twilight managed to escape the ion wave by jumping into hyperspace, taking knowledge of the Separatist weapon with them.[96]
Shortly after, Skywalker created a plan to utilize Y-wing bombers in a daring attack on the Malevolence, primarily seeking to take out General Grievous and ensure a speedier resolution to the war. The Republic plotted the course of the Separatist super weapon to the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center, and in an attempt to arrive there before it, the strike force made its way through the Balmorra Run; however, the small force had not reckoned on being confronted by Neebray mantas. After barely escaping with their lives, the strike team engaged in battle with the Malevolence, taking several casualties. When it became apparent that the original plan would fail, Tano, acting as her Master's gunner, suggested a change in tactics. With this in mind Master Koon devised a plan that sought to cause the Separatist warship's ion cannons to overload; this tactic proved successful and shortly after destroying the ion cannons, Master Kenobi arrived in system with three Republic ships that began pursuit of the fleeing Malevolence.[97]
Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano and Master Plo Koon began the final attack on the Malevolence when they received an incoming transmission from Amidala and Threepio, who were being pulled aboard the Confederate heavy cruiser via a tractor beam. Skywalker, Kenobi and Artoo piloted the Twilight and entered the superweapon through an airlock. Separating, Skywalker found Amidala and the two went to the ship's bridge, where Skywalker rigged the navicomputer and programmed the ship to crash into a nearby moon. The two then met with Kenobi, Threepio and Artoo, and the five escaped in the Twilight. With the Malevolence destroyed, they returned to the Republic fleet.[67]
Some weeks later, while searching for General Grievous and his fleet, Kenobi and Skywalker were forced to come to the aid of Commander Cody, Captain Rex, and a squad of shinies after the clones engaged Separatist forces on the Rishi moon. The Jedi's fleet arrived just in time to force Grievous' ships out of the system, foiling the cyborg's plot to launch a surprise attack on Kamino.[98]
Attack on the Separatist shipyards
The Republic decided to attack the shipyards at Gwori, but the droids had developed a machine where only droids could pass through harmlessly, not to mention a whole blockade of Munificent-class star frigates. Skywalker thus proposed that they freeze themselves in carbonite in order to bypass the Separatist blockade. Once there, Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and Obi-Wan Kenobi delivered the shipyard coordinates to Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin.
In order to bypass the Separatist blockade, the two Jedi masters and the Republic bombers had to perform a precision hyperspace jump. In the meantime, Skywalker, Kenobi, Tano, and Rex were captured, but escaped with the help of R2-D2. Once the bombers arrived, the Jedi decided to escape on a Separatist frigate. However, the bombs took out their shields. Moments after Skywalker led the stolen frigate away from the shipyards, Tiin was about to blast it, but Kenobi contacted him and stopped him. Plo Koon then ordered the bombers to strike the construction supports, and once they were done, the shipyards collapsed. Out in space, they were almost killed by the Separatist's radiation beam, until Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin destroyed the beam.
Podracing battle
The Jedi High Council dispatched Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi to investigate a corrupt senator, who recently smuggled a data disk, which contained Republic strategic battle plans. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, the senator pledged his allegiance to Confederate Head of State Count Dooku. Dooku's Dark Acolyte, Asajj Ventress, landed on Coruscant to collect the disk. However, Mundi and his squad of clone troopers attacked Ventress, but after she killed the senator, Ventress escaped to the planet of Mon Gazza. After discussing the matter with Chancellor Palpatine, Mundi and Grand Master Yoda contacted Skywalker and his Padawan, Tano, on Queel to give them their assignment to Mon Gazza.
On Mon Gazza Skywalker, Tano, and Rex went undercover to find the stolen datadisk. The datadisk was stolen by the deceased senator's aide, Messo, who soon was killed by Skywalker. While the disk was not with the aide, the Jedi Knight concluded that the disk was with another Confederate spy on Mon Gazza. The group noticed a Twi'lek podracer, named Kidd Kareen, won a podrace. Kareen and his closest friend, San Maxus, became Skywalker's suspects. Telling Tano to become friends with Kareen, Skywalker soon began to snoop around Kareen's pit inside a podrace hangar. Soon after, the first Mon Gazza podrace began. Skywalker entered Tano into the race, however she crashed her pod. After Kareen gave the Togruta a spare pod, Skywalker and Rex followed Maxus to a cantina, where they found him contacting Dooku.
The following day, Tano was racing in the Mon Gazza Maze with Kareen and Maxus. Skywalker and Rex watched her progress when they noticed Maxus had the data disk. Maxus soon began to bump into Tano's pod, threatening to kill the revealed Jedi. However, Kareen saved Tano by allowing her to jump onto his pod. Confronting the racers, Ventress jumped onto Maxus's pod and engaged Tano in a duel. Skywalker left Rex to save his Padawan on a speeder bike. Ventress soon grabbed the data disk, though it was soon Force crushed by Skywalker. As Ventress escaped the scene; Skywalker, Tano and Kareen met up with Rex near the hangar. After leaving Kareen, the group departed Mon Gazza. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi contacted Skywalker via hologram and discussed about Skywalker's successful mission.[99]
Mission to Taloraan
The Republic forces traveled to Kothlis to negotiate with the Bothans, but were confronted by a Confederate fleet upon arrival. After a brief battle, however, the Separatist forces retreated. Jedi Grand Master Yoda, Kenobi, Skywalker and Tano then entered negotiations with the Bothans' first secretary Desark Fey'lya, who thanked the Jedi for their efforts in repelling the Separatist attack. Tano, however, sensed that the secretary had probably invited the Separatists himself and expressed her concerns to the rest of the Jedi. Fey'lya felt insulted by Tano's words and declared that the Bothans and their Spynet would be open to both sides of the conflict.
Kenobi, Skywalker and Tano traveled to the planet of Taloraan to secure the shipment of tibanna with the Republic. They were unaware that the magister of Taloraan City, Orlin Denache secretly signed a treaty with Count Dooku, who was interested in making Taloraan a member of the Separatists. A Munificent-class star frigate under the command of Captain Canteval was sent to the planet and local CIS supporters led by Rynert began to smuggle B1-Series battle droids and droidekas into the city.
Denache realized that the Jedi would detect his lies with the Force, so he pretended to became ill and his emissary Sech Govlinder was sent to negotiate in his place. After the first round of negotiations Ahsoka Tano went into the city and accidentally discovered battle droids stocked within a guarded warehouse. Canteval ordered the droids to attack her and the other Jedi, revealing the Confederate presence within the city. Kenobi and Skywalker accused Govlinder of treachery and tried to reach their Nu-class shuttle, but were incapacitated when the shuttle was blown up and taken into custody.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka Tano managed to leave the city of Denfrandi and persuade a tribe of Wind Raiders to join combat against Separatist forces. Govlinder himself felt manipulated by Denache and remained loyal to the Republic. Once he had the chance, he immediately freed both Jedi and returned to them their lightsabers. Afterward he led them to the city's central communication tower, where the Jedi were able to patch a message to their Star Destroyer, Resolute. Without the element of surprise Canteval's Munificent was unable to overpower the Venator on its own. With its shield weakening, the Munificent took several direct hits into its engines and, unable to maintain altitude, was sucked into the gas giant's core.
Meanwhile, the Resolute had sent several LAAT/i with clone reinforcements to help the loyalists regain control of the city. Rynert and his followers tried to hold, but against the combined strength of the Jedi, clone troopers, Denfrandi loyalists and the Wind Raiders they were outmatched and soon defeated. Facing a dead-end, magister Denache committed suicide by stepping off the edge of the city and falling into the care of the gas giant. Temporarily taking the rule of the city, Govlinder continued negotiations with the Jedi and acknowledged the support of the Wind Raiders, who also played a small part in the skirmish.
Battle of JanFathal
Skywalker agreed to let Tano to travel with Rex in a mission to the Leveler, a ship commanded by Gilad Pellaeon. Tano, Rex and a group of clones would go to JanFathal to rescue Hallena Devis. Skywalker rescued the group with a CR-20 troop carrier.
A missing friend
- "Hey! We'd like to buy a droid. You sellin'?"
- ―Skywalker aboard the Vulture's Claw
After Republic forces were bested at Falleen, Grievous' fleet headed to attack the Both system. Skywalker and Tano prepared to defend the strategic system. Grievous headed through the asteroid belt, and Skywalker led a fleet of V-19s in his starfighter with R2-D2. As the Separatist fleet started to attack the cruisers, it seemed that the Republic had been beaten, but Skywalker unveiled his "surprise" for Grievous: pre-dispatched All Terrain Tactical Enforcers in the asteroid field. The AT-TEs attacked the Separatist frigates from behind, and the Venator-class cruisers attacked from the front. Beaten, Grievous boarded his fighter and fled the battle. Skywalker pursued him in his starfighter, but flying debris from the disintegrating frigates caused damage to his ship. Fortunately, Rex was able to rescue him, but after recovering he learned that Artoo had gone missing.[100]
With Artoo missing, Skywalker was given a replacement astromech droid, R3-S6, but was convinced that Artoo could never be replaced. In an attempt to find his friend, Skywalker went with Tano on board the Twilight to search the battlefield. Finding his damaged ship without Artoo, Skywalker then proceeded to dock to a nearby scavenging ship, unaware of the fact that Trandoshan Gha Nachkt had already promised the droid to Grievous.[100]
After returning to his cruiser, Skywalker reported to Kenobi that he was not able to find Artoo. Kenobi then instructed Skywalker to find the Separatist listening post that was apparently listening in on them, explaining the Separatists' intel on their strategies. Skywalker went to scout ahead with R3, but the astromech activated his starfighter's tracking beacon, alerting Grievous to his position. Skywalker managed to evade an attack by Vulture droids, and Tano and Rex came to his rescue aboard the Twilight. After chastising R3 for nearly getting killed, Skywalker held onto the belief that Artoo was still somewhere out there.[100]
Mission to Skytop Station
- "You have something that belongs to me."
- ―Skywalker, rescuing R2 from MagnaGuards
After receiving a message from Artoo, Skywalker managed to track his droid to Skytop Station, the listening post they had been looking for. Skywalker sent Tano and the clones to destroy the station while he went to search for Artoo. He found Artoo being carried away by Grievous's MagnaGuards and successfully dispatched the droids. The duo then headed to the south hangar to escape with his team, but upon meeting up with Rex and Denal, Skywalker discovered that Tano had engaged Grievous alone and sent the two to complete the mission. This news filled him with dread; he had neither met nor fought Grievous in a duel, and this lack of experience on his part might result in Tano's death.[101]
As the group started to leave the hangar, they were locked in by R3, who revealed himself to be a spy for Grievous. R3 also activated three Vulture droids. Super battle droids appeared, and a fight broke out. After Tano returned, Skywalker reproved her for engaging Grievous on her own, and he sent Artoo to find the controls on the outer platform to open the hangar. The group managed to dispatch the rest of the droids, and after Artoo opened the hangar door and also destroyed R3, Skywalker went out in his fighter to retrieve him. After conferring with an exasperated Kenobi, Skywalker told Tano that Artoo was more than a droid: he was a friend.[101]
Capture of Gunray
- "I need you to depart for Rodia immediately."
"Rodia?"
"You are to oversee the transfer of Nute Gunray." - ―Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano
After Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray was captured during a mission to Rodia by Senator Amidala, Skywalker, fearing for her safety, sent Tano to help Master Luminara Unduli escort Gunray to Coruscant for trial.[102] However, Gunray managed to escape with the help of Ventress and a traitorous Senate Commando Captain Faro Argyus. Skywalker then met up with Tano at a rendezvous point.[103]
Capturing Dooku
- Skywalker: "You should be more patient, Master. After all, the Count is an elderly gentleman and doesn't move like he used to."
- Kenobi: "I suppose you're right."
- Dooku: "I would kill you both right now if I did not have to drag your bodies."
- ―Skywalker and Kenobi mock Dooku as the three attempt to escape Listen [104]
Kenobi and Skywalker managed to track Dooku aboard a Separatist frigate, and Skywalker devised a plan to get aboard. Once on board, he allowed himself to be captured,[105] and Kenobi came aboard to rescue him. After freeing Skywalker, the two Jedi confronted Dooku as the Resolute attacked the frigate, but Dooku escaped in his solar sailer, and the Jedi pursued. Unfortunately, both ships sustained damage and crash-landed on Vanqor. Dooku trapped the two Jedi in a cave and stole Skywalker's lightsaber, but as he was taken to nearby Florrum by pirates, he was captured himself. After confronting a Gundark and poison gas, Kenobi and Skywalker were rescued by Tano, who was not pleased to find that her master had let Dooku escape.[106]
Hondo Ohnaka contacted the Republic, seeking to turn over Dooku for one million credits. Skywalker and Kenobi were sent to Florrum to confirm that Dooku was a captive of the pirates,[106] but after reporting back, they were captured themselves,[107] discovering that the pirates were seeking to triple their pay. The two Jedi were forced to strike an uneasy alliance with Dooku to escape from the stronghold, but after multiple attempts the two Jedi were tortured. Fortunately, Jar Jar Binks, sent with Senator Kharrus to deliver the ransom, accidentally destroyed the power lines, and Skywalker and Kenobi managed to escape. The two retrieved their lightsabers, but left on even terms with Ohnaka. Dooku, however, had escaped separately.[104]
Battle of Quell
- "Take care of that clanker! I'll be aboard Aayla's cruiser."
- ―Skywalker to Tano
When Jedi General Aayla Secura was attacked by the Separatists, the Resolute was sent to help her. Arriving above Quell, Skywalker and Tano went on gunships to land on the cruiser, but Skywalker used a rocket droid to land on the cruiser. Skywalker called a frigate for an evacuation of the cruiser, and met up with Secura and Bly with Tano. However, increasing Separatist fire caused a raging inferno to run through the cruiser, and Skywalker sacrificed himself to save the others, severely injuring himself in the process. Secura and Tano managed to get him on board the frigate, but as they prepared to dock with the Resolute to give Skywalker medical attention, an assault by several Vulture droids caused the hyperdrive to accidentally activate, and they were forced to detach from the cruiser.[108]
Tano piloted the frigate to narrowly avoid hitting a star, but the ship was forced to crash-land on the remote world of Maridun. Leaving Rex to watch over Skywalker, Secura, Tano and the rest of the clones went in search of the planet's inhabitants for medical support for Skywalker. Rex was attacked by a Mastiff phalone, but managed to fend it off. Just as a second group of the creatures attacked Skywalker and Rex, Tano arrived with Bly and Wag Too, who was a healer belonging to the pacifist Lurmen colony. They managed to fend off the creatures and brought Skywalker to the Lurmen village.[108]
Battle of Maridun
- "Ahsoka…Stop. If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war."
- ―Skywalker to Tano in the Lurmen Village on Maridun
When Separatists arrived on Maridun, Tee Watt Kaa, leader of the Lurmen, accused the Jedi of bringing the war to their planet. Skywalker, Tano, Rex and Bly left the village so that the Lurmen would not pay the consequence of their presence. After discovering that the Separatists planned to test a new weapon on the Lurmen, the group took a shuttle back to the Lurmen village to defend them. The group set up shields and managed to survive a blast from the weapon, as well as the first wave of droids. However, the second wave of droids penetrated the shield and destroyed it. As the Separatists prepared to use the Defoliator again, Skywalker arrived and destroyed it, along with capturing General Lok Durd. As the Jedi prepared to leave, a fleet of three Venator-class cruisers arrived on the planet: Admiral Yularen was apparently able to find them on his own.[109]
Battle on Orto Plutonia
- "I thought this planet was uninhabited and therefore it's not aligned."
- ―Skywalker to Chairman Cho
After losing contact with a Republic base on Orto Plutonia, Kenobi and Skywalker were sent to investigate with a squad of cold assault troopers under the command of clone trooper Captain Rex. Arriving on the severely cold planet, the Jedi discovered that the planet was inhabited by Talz, contrary to previous belief. However, Chairman Chi Cho of the nearby moon of Pantora was insulted by the Talz occupancy of the planet, and declared war, despite the Jedi's efforts to bring forth peace. However, Senator Riyo Chuchi convened with the Pantoran Assembly and called Cho out of order, and she was able to bring forth peace between the two worlds at the cost of the Cho's life.[110]
Blue Shadow Virus scare
- "Padmé may be lost, Anakin. Don't risk the mission trying to rescue her."
[…]
"I know what's at stake here." - ―Kenobi and Skywalker, as they prepare to attack Vindi's laboratory
Kenobi, Skywalker and Tano traveled to Naboo when there was evidence of a secret Separatist lab there. When Skywalker learned that Amidala had left without waiting for them, he immediately became worried and sent Tano to find them. Captain Typho reported that they had lost contact with her and Binks, but they had discovered that Separatist-allied Dr. Nuvo Vindi was planning to release the Blue Shadow Virus back into the galaxy. He noted that Amidala had transmitted the coordinates of the secret lab before contact was lost. When Tano reported back, Kenobi instructed her to lead an attack on the south entrance, while Skywalker and Kenobi entered the lab through the hatches. Kenobi attempted to convince Skywalker to not risk the mission just to save her, and Skywalker replied that he knew what was at stake.[111]
Arriving over the lab, the gunships dropped bombs over the hatches, and Skywalker entered the lab with his squad. He found that Tano's distraction was working, and proceeded to break into the main room. Vindi started to electrify Amidala and Binks, and forced the group to lay down their weapons to save them. Skywalker complied without hesitation. Vindi gave Skywalker a choice: capture him or save his friends, and turned the electricity back on and escaped. Skywalker retrieved his lightsaber, but instead of going after Vindi, he freed Amidala and Binks. Vindi activated the virus bombs, and Skywalker and Kenobi found him escaping in the landing bay. Vindi threw down virus capsules, forcing Kenobi to stop attacking and retrieve them. However, with some help from Peppi Bow, Skywalker succeeded in stopping the mad doctor.[111]
Mission to Iego
- "The virus is liberated. You are doomed, young Jedi, along with the rest of the planet."
- ―Vindi to Skywalker and Kenobi as the Blue Shadow Virus is released
Skywalker and Kenobi prepared to escort Nuvo Vindi to Theed for trial, but far down below, an alarm began to sound. Skywalker contacted Tano and found that Vindi's servant droid LEP-86C8 had succeeded in liberating the Blue Shadow Virus, and he contacted Amidala to make sure she was all right. Amidala stated that she would stop any remaining droids from escaping and setting the virus free, and Skywalker told her to be careful. Skywalker forcefully interrogated Vindi for the antidote, but Vindi taunted him. Kenobi convinced Skywalker that the quickest way to save his friends was to go back to Theed and find an actual cure, and Skywalker crossly complied.[112]
Arriving back at Theed, Skywalker and Kenobi handed Vindi over, and Typho informed Kenobi and Skywalker that he had found a possible cure: Reeksa root, found only on Iego. He mentioned that would be suicide trying to go there. Skywalker, however, decided to go there anyway, and he and Kenobi boarded the Twilight. Upon arriving on Iego, they passed through a graveyard of ships in Iego's orbit, and when they landed they were greeted by strangely disfigured droids. Skywalker proceeded to eliminate them, but Kenobi alerted him to the fact that they were not attempting to defend themselves. They met Jaybo Hood, who reprogrammed the droids once the Separatists left the planet, and told them that "Drol," the phantom ruler of Iego, was preventing the inhabitants from leaving the planet.[112]
Skywalker and Kenobi obtained the root after being attacked by the plant itself, but as they tried to leave the planet, a laser web activated, and Kenobi concluded that the Separatists planted it when they left. After learning that the Separatists had stolen Millius Prime, home to the Angels, when they attacked, Skywalker concluded that it must be where the laser emitter was. Jaybo gave R2-D2 remote control of four Vulture droids, and Artoo attempted to fly them into the laser emitter, but all were destroyed. Kenobi then managed to shoot the generator, destroying the laser field and liberating the inhabitants of Iego. Skywalker and Kenobi then returned to Naboo, where they arrived in time to save their friends.[112]
Battle of Ryloth
Battle over the planet
- "It was a trap, Snips. It wasn't your fault."
"I lost so many of my pilots."
"Take heart, little one. That's the reality of command." - ―Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano
After Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor seized control of the planet Ryloth and its inhabitants, the Jedi Council devised a plan to invade and liberate the planet, and dispatched Skywalker and Tano to destroy the Separatist blockade and clear the way for the invasion forces to land. The Resolute arrived out of hyperspace over Ryloth, along with the Defender and Redeemer, just in front of the blockade. Tano led a squadron for the first time, leading Blue Squadron, and managed to cut away through the advancing Vulture droids. However, after Separatist reinforcements arrived out of hyperspace, Admiral Yularen and Skywalker ordered Tano back to the Resolute, but she disobeyed, thinking that she could still complete her mission. The Vulture droids began suicidal runs on the Resolute, and one droid hit its bridge, severely injuring Admiral Yularen. Tano finally returned to the Resolute, but lost half her battle group along the way. The Resolute and Defender retreated to hyperspace, but the Redeemer was too damaged to follow.[113]
After ordering a head count to find how many men they lost, Skywalker reprimanded his Padawan for disobeying a direct order. She argued that he himself disobeyed orders all the time, but took full responsibility for her actions, if rather severely. Skywalker attempted to console her, stating that loss was the reality of command, before leaving to give a report on their progress to Generals Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi. After he reported their losses, Kenobi recommended that Skywalker give his Padawan some time to recover, but stated that he would need her to complete his mission. Despite only half his forces remaining, Skywalker was given one planetary rotation to destroy the blockade. He sent Rex to find Tano, and she met him while he was repairing her starfighter with the help of R2-D2. After stating that they had to finish their mission without reinforcements, Tano started to panic and questioned his readiness. Skywalker ordered her back to her quarters to "cool off."[113]
Later, Tano joined him in the hangar bay of the Resolute and discovered that he had devised a plan to pilot the Defender alone and destroy the lead battleship to take out the commander and thereby leave only outmaneuverable droids in command of the blockade. Tano attempted to change his mind, but he left for the Defender with R2-D2, leaving her in charge of the Resolute, and responsible for both his life and destroying the rest of the blockade. After arriving out of hyperspace, Skywalker proceeded to contact the commander of the lead ship, Captain Mar Tuuk, who had already learned much about him from the archives. Skywalker stated that he had been ordered to surrender himself, his crew and his vessel in exchange for safe passage to deliver supplies to Ryloth. However, a scan of the Defender revealed his deception to Tuuk, and Skywalker proceeded to gun the engines of the Defender and head it straight for the ship. Tuuk fled the battlefield, and the Resolute arrived out of hyperspace. Tano's plan to angle the hull of the Resolute toward the blockade to act as a screen so that the fighters could launch went off without a hitch, and Tano led a team of fighters on a successful attack on the blockade. The invasion force arrived out of hyperspace with Generals Kenobi and Windu aboard, and Tano dispatched a shuttle to retrieve her master.[113]
Retaking the capital city
- "That was close, Master!"
"Isn't it always, Snips?" - ―Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker, after defeating the bombers
After Kenobi and his men were able to take out the proton cannons and allow the transports to land,[115] Windu headed for the capital with his forces. During a holographic conference with Palpatine, Yoda, Admiral Yularen, Senator Orn Free Taa and Windu, Skywalker reported that his forces had secured the space around Ryloth, and that the Separatist cruisers were on the run. However, Wat Tambor soon deployed Hyena-class bombers to destroy the nearby villages and Skywalker engaged them in his fighter, accompanied by Tano. Tambor's tactical droid TA-175 and his shuttle left without him, but Count Dooku still ordered the bombers to destroy Lessu, despite the fact that Tambor was still there. However, before the bombers could destroy the Republic forces and the Twi'lek inhabitants, Skywalker and Tano shot them down. Tambor was captured, and the Republic was victorious: Ryloth was finally free once more.[114]
Following the liberation of Lessu, Skywalker and Tano were left in command of the operations against the remaining Confederate holdouts on the planet. The two Jedi led their 501st Legion clone troopers through the ruined city of Resdin, gradually clearing out the droid forces that were encamped there. During the conflict, Captain Rex and Clone Sergeant Boomer were captured by the bounty hunter Cad Bane, who was on the run after stealing the Gravitic Core, a part of Separatist scientist Kul Teska's newly developed superweapon. The clones were eventually rescued by Skywalker and Tano, but while trying to escape from Resdin, they and Bane were attacked by Teska himself, who planned to steal the Gravitic Core from them. When the Skakoan attempted to seize the Core with a grappling hook, Skywalker used the Force to throw it into Bane's ship.[116]
Tano pinned Bane beneath a metal slab, preventing him from running off with his ship. An enraged Teska engaged the Jedi, charging at them using the enhanced abilities of his modified pressure suit and firing volleys of missiles from launchers mounted on his back. After Skywalker repeatedly used the Force to redirect his missiles back at him, Teska encased the two Jedi within an energy bubble, incapacitating them. However, before Teska could escape in Bane's ship, Rex and Boomer arrived and confronted Teska until the Skakoan was eventually forced to issue and ultimatum: either save their Jedi commanders or kill Teska. As the energy bubble began to close in on Skywalker and Tano, the clones decided to chose to rescue the Jedi. While the clones deactivated the bubble, Teska boarded The Sleight of Hand and escaped with his weapon. Cad Bane also escaped, fleeing Ryloth and the Republic forces.[116]
Skywalker and Tano contacted Jedi Grand Master Yoda and Generals Windu, Kenobi, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto on Juma 9. The group was joined by the Jedi Aayla Secura and Luminara Unduli, who had encountered Separatist forces on the world of Alzoc III, where Bane had stolen the Core from Teska. During the holographic transmission, the Jedi received a distress signal from Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, who was investigating Confederate activity on Behpour, a planet in the Naboo system. Amidala reported that she had been spotted before her connection was severed. The Jedi prepared to lay siege to Teska's facility on Behpour, from which the Skakoan had harnessed his gravitic beam to collapse the Naboo sun, with the objective of rescuing the Senator and destroying the Confederate superweapon.[116]
Battle of Behpour
Commander Cody and Captain Rex created a diversion while Skywalker and Kenobi snuck into the droid facility and destroyed the shield generator, allowing the main body of troops, commanded by Windu and Tano, to destroy the main building. Inside, Skywalker and Tano faced Teska, while Rex, Cody, and Ponds brought the Twilight to the rendezvous point while trying to escape Dooku, who was trying to impede their advance. By the time Masters Kenobi and Windu arrived, the Count was already close to destroying the freighter. After a short duel, Windu and Kenobi defeated Dooku, while the clones escaped. Before they could capture him, however, Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress appeared and took her injured master to a hidden Sheathipede-class transport shuttle, in which they escaped. Meanwhile, Skywalker and his Padawan had already diffused the bomb, defeated Teska and saved the Senator. In the end, the Jedi escaped with the Senator Amidala, leaving Teska and his experiments to die in the burning wreckage of the laboratory.[116]
Felucia
- "Move it trooper! Come on, double time!"
- ―Anakin, to an unknown clone trooper
Skywalker, Tano, Kenobi and Master Plo Koon were sent to counter General Grievous's attack on Felucia. The Republic forces engaged the Confederate Navy above the planet and began to break-up their advancement; however, waves of Vulture droids caused problems for the Republic group. Few clone trooper transports made it to the planet surface to aid Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. As battle droids continued to fire on the struggling clone troopers, General Koon cleared the skies of Vulture droids, inside his starfighter. Meanwhile, a Vulture droid fragment fell from the sky and landed on one of the Republic's AT-TE walkers. Seeing that the Republic forces had lost much of its reinforcements, Kenobi signaled for an immediate retreat; however, both Kenobi and Skywalker noticed that Tano has been missing. Contacting her through his comlink, Tano revealed that she has engaged another group of battle droids. The Jedi Master told her that the Republic forces are retreating and she needed to return, although the Togruta Padawan denied and told him that she has broke through the Separatists' defense. However, Skywalker and Kenobi landed their LAAT/i gunships in front of Tano's Juggernaut Turbo Tank, which caused her to shout at Skywalker in dismay. After Skywalker forced her to enter his gunship, she complied and entered it. As the Republic forces—aboard the LAAT/i gunships—lifted above the ground, the forces within them witnessed the destruction of Tano's Turbo Tank and its reinforcements.
The stolen holocron
After leaving Felucia, the Republic forces returned to Coruscant. Inside the Jedi Temple council chamber, Skywalker and Tano stood before Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda. Kenobi had given the Council information on what the Padawan had done on Felucia. After, Windu informed the Padawan if she agrees with Kenobi's claims. Tano agreed, and told the Jedi Master that she is regretful of her actions and only was "caught in the moment." Skywalker defended his Padawan by taking the blame; however, Windu dismissed his claim. The Jedi Master then announced that Tano would take time off from the battlefield and become a Jedi Archives guard, under the assistance of Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu. Skywalker and Tano soon left the council chamber and headed for the Archives room. Along the way, Tano reflected on her actions and apologized to her master; however, Skywalker told her that he was once a struggling Jedi Padawan not too long ago. The Jedi Knight soon greeted Nu, who was near her desk outside the main Archives hall. Skywalker introduced Tano to Nu, and told the Jedi Librarian that Tano was to be her new guard officer.
Later, Cad Bane would sneak in the Jedi Temple to steal a holocron. Skywalker, Tano and Kenobi captured Bane's ally, Cato Parasitti. However, Bane managed to escape. Windu told the Jedi that Bane wanted the Kyber memory crystal which could only be read by holocrons and contained information about every known Force-sensitive child in the galaxy, the future of the Jedi Order. Windu also told them that Jedi Master Bolla Ropal was the keeper of the crystal. Skywalker and Tano would then go to the Devaron system to capture Bane.
Holocron chase
- "I… don't have the holocron memory and… I seem to have misplaced my Padawan."
- ―Anakin Skywalker
Skywalker and Tano attacked Cad Bane's fleet over Devaron. After disabling his ship, Skywalker, Tano, Artoo and a team of clone troopers entered Bane's ship using AT-TE walkers. The Republic team then entered the bridge and destroyed its crew. However, Bane had escaped through a chute. After clearing the main bridge, the Jedi found a hologram recording of Bane's conversation with Gunray, which confirmed that he was in possession of the kyber crystal. To prevent Bane from escaping the ship, Rex and his squad destroyed the ship's supply of escape pods. Admiral Yularen witnessed an explosion in the ship's aft section, but Skywalker still pressed on to find Ropal.
The Jedi and clones searched the ship for Ropal, and Tano found his body in a prison cell. Skywalker ordered a few clones to bring Ropal's body to the Resolute. They had no other options than to find Bane and retrieve the crystal. Bane had deactivated the ship's lights using his wrist-com, and so the clones were forced to use night vision. Bane was spotted, and the Jedi pursued. He led them to the ship's gunnery deck, where he reactivated the lights to reveal an army of droids awaiting. The droids opened fire, and in the midst of the firefight, Bane used his wrist-com to deactivate the ship's artificial gravity wells, turning the ship into a zero gravity environment. The clones were trained for this type of situation, and were equipped with magnetic boots, as were the droids. To make matters worse, the gunnery deck was full of ammunition canisters, which meant stray fire could cause the entire gunnery deck to explode.
Bane and Skywalker fought. Skywalker kicked Bane in the face, which caused him to float away in a spinning motion, causing the holocron to fall out of Bane's duster. Just as Skywalker was about to grab it, R2-D2 reactivated the gravity, sending him, Bane, and the holocron falling to the floor. As Skywalker was dazed, Bane snatched the holocron and fled. Skywalker pursued, but Bane distracted him by causing a clone attached to the ceiling with his magnetized boots to fall. While Skywalker was distracted saving the clone, Tano gave chase. Bane used his wrist-com to close the blast door, separating Tano from her master. When Skywalker attempted to cut through the door, a droid accidentally shot an ammo canister, causing the ceiling to collapse, trapping Skywalker in the rubble.
As Bane reached a dead end in the hallway, he took a shot at Tano, which she easily deflected back to his left arm. Bane managed to disarm Tano, but she still managed to flip the bounty hunter onto the floor. She thought she had beaten him, but the bounty hunter grabbed her ankle and delivered a massive stun charge through her body, incapacitating her. Skywalker sensed this, and in his rage broke through the rubble that surrounded him. When he received the order from Admiral Yularen to abandon the mission because the ship was about to explode, he in turn ordered Yularen to move the Resolute a safe distance from the ship and moved on to save his Padawan.
Skywalker found Tano trapped in an energy field, right in front of an airlock. Bane threatened to open the airlock unless Skywalker opened the holocron. Skywalker accepted and dropped his lightsaber. He then opened the holocron. But then, Skywalker grabbed his lightsaber and Tano's and attacked Bane. However, Bane opened the airlock and escaped. Skywalker rescued Tano and the two went to the hangar. The team would later return to the Resolute. Although Bane was presumed dead, Skywalker still felt his presence.[118]
Rescuing the children
Skywalker and Tano returned from their failed mission to recapture the holocron captured by Cad Bane whom they believed to be dead land on the Resolute orbiting the Devaron System. Tano followed the clone trooper who supposedly killed Cad Bane constantly asking questions with no answers from the clone. Skywalker, in the meantime, investigated green Duros blood residing inside the ship and was alerted to the danger. He warned Tano, but it was too late. She was kneed in the midsection by Cad Bane disguised as the clone trooper, who ran to another ship to get away. Anakin attempted to stop him by jumping onto the ship, but Bane moved the ship and Anakin fell off. Anakin then helplessly contacted Admiral Yularen and told him to deactivate the hyperspace rings, but he, too, was too late, and Cad Bane escaped.
Back on Coruscant, Skywalker and Tano reported to the Jedi Council of the unfortunate turn of events. With Bane having access to all Force-sensitive children in the holocron and that the information was in Separatist hands, it could be disastrous for the Order. Their only hope was to search through the Force to watch for any kidnappings.
Yoda, Kenobi, Mace Windu and Skywalker meditated, trying to detect any children through the Force, as many were being overshadowed by the dark side. Skywalker and Tano then headed to Naboo to secure a Gungan child.
They arrived on Naboo and secured the child, Roo-Roo Page. Bane was captured later that night, but refused to reveal the locations of the other captured children, and his ship's navigation logs had been wiped. Therefore, Skywalker, Windu and Kenobi simultaneously used the Force to make him talk, with the risk of destroying his mind. The experience was hard on Bane and he cooperated.
With Bane as their guide, Kenobi and Windu prepared to go find the children. Windu pointed out that they had to report to the Chancellor about this, but Kenobi insisted that this is a Jedi affair; Skywalker advocated contacting Palpatine.
On Coruscant, Skywalker reported to Palpatine about the plot. He expressed his belief that Dooku was not behind it, but he did not know who was. Palpatine told him to have patience.
Back on the Resolute, Skywalker and Tano checked Bane's fighter for any clues. Tano found volcanic ash on its hull, while Skywalker looked through its fueling log, determining that Bane had dropped his hostages on Mustafar. They then headed out in the Twilight. However, the facility was set to sink in the lava as Master-Padawan team entered it, drawn by Wee's cries. The droids inside used the children as shields when fighting the Jedi, while the facility tore itself apart. Nonetheless, the Jedi managed to snatch the children away from the droids and escape before the entire facility fell into the lava.
When they returned to Coruscant, Skywalker admitted to the Council that they were unable to find out who was behind the kidnappings, and the Jedi Masters revealed to Skywalker and Tano that Bane had escaped.[119]
Defense on Felucia
While on a mission to check up on a medical station above Felucia, Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano were attacked by Separatist droid starfighters, which obliterated their ship and forced them to evacuate and crash-land into the planet below. Although all three Jedi survived the crash with minimal injuries, they were left with no means of escaping Felucia or getting into contact with a Republic-allied planet. Stumbling into a seemingly abandoned Felucian village, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tano split up, hoping to find some inhabitants or some means of escape. They were soon able to find a starship sitting in a hangar and, when they finally discovered the hiding place of the villagers, were challenged by a squad of bounty hunters led by Sugi. When it became apparent that the Jedi could help the bounty hunters defend the village against another group of marauders, Kenobi initially disagreed, citing the fact that if any of the opposition were able to catch a glimpse of the Jedi and had communication off-world, Separatist forces could be brought down onto the planet. That worry is immediately compounded when the Jedi come face-to-face with the marauding leader: none other than their old captor, Hondo Ohnaka. With the realization that Ohnaka could turn them over at any moment, Kenobi agrees to let the Jedi help. Skywalker, along with the enigmatic Embo, worked on training the villagers for combat. When Ohnaka finally rallied his forces to attack the village, Skywalker led the defenses, utilizing the Force to leap atop a cliffside and engage Ohnaka and his Kowakian monkey-lizard Pilf Mukmuk himself. Despite besting Ohnaka in combat, Skywalker offered the pirate a helping hand when the Weequay found himself dangling treacherously off a cliff. Once on sturdy ground again, Ohnaka pushed Skywalker into the trajectory of his Mukmuk-controlled cannon, forcing Skywalker to jump to safety and allow Ohnaka and his monkey-lizard to make a clean escape with his surviving pirates. As an offer of thanks, Sugi offered to transport the Jedi off of Felucia.[120]
The Zillo Beast
Later in the war, Skywalker oversaw the Battle of Malastare with Mace Windu, supervising the drop of the Republic's new electro-proton bomb to destroy the droid armies. Unbeknownst to either Jedi, the bomb awoke a creature thought to be long dead, the Zillo Beast. When Windu, venturing into the bomb-created pit to examine things himself, found the beast altogether overwhelming, he contacted Skywalker, who abandoned his talks with Doge Nakha Urus to pilot his starfighter into the fray with R2-D2. Despite his extraordinary piloting skills, Skywalker soon found himself swatted aside by the beast, narrowly escaping being crushed altogether by the creature's large hand. While defending himself against the zillo beast, Skywalker made the important discovery that the beast's scales were impervious to lightsabers. Using R2-D2 to fly him up and out of the pit, he later led the conference with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, acting as a middleman between Urus, who wanted to destroy the beast immediately, and Windu, who adamantly supported the Jedi belief that all life-forms should be preserved whenever possible. Although Skywalker suggested that the beast should be subdued and transferred to a planet in the Outer Rim, Urus ridiculed the idea, stating that zillo beasts had been the enemies of the Dugs for centuries and that it was their sworn duty to destroy it. When Dr. Sionver Boll proposed that the beast's scales might be used as a new technology for armor, Palpatine ordered that intense stun rays be used to render the beast comatose, fooling the Dugs into believing it dead and transporting it off-world for further examination. Although a fierce argument broke out between Windu and Urus, the matter was decided when Urus' method of pouring toxins into the pit caused the beast to climb up out of it, forcing the Jedi to use their stun rays to incapacitate it and, under Palpatine's orders, transport it to Coruscant.[121]
Dismayed with the resulting inhumane experiments performed on the beast, Windu informed Obi-Wan Kenobi of the matter, who in turn persuaded Skywalker's wife Padmé Amidala to convince him to take the matter to Palpatine. While meeting with the Supreme Chancellor, the enraged zillo beast escaped its confinements, intent on pursuing a vendetta after overhearing Palpatine order its termination in the name of winning the war and science. After Amidala spotted the beast making its way towards the Senate buildings, Palpatine ordered the evacuation of his office, taking Skywalker, Amidala, and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 down to his private shuttle, where they were snatched out of the air soon after take-off by the zillo beast's massive claws. Skywalker was able to slice the shuttle in half using his lightsaber, allowing a hatch for the occupants to escape onto the Senate building's roof. Skywalker saved Amidala from falling off of the sloped building using the Force, and with the help of Yoda and Aayla Secura protected the escape group from fatal toxin bombs that eventually led to the beast's demise.[122]
Spy in the Galactic Senate
Skywalker discreetly returned to Coruscant to his wife Padmé's apartment, and they prepared for a long-awaited romantic evening together, when Skywalker was signaled by the Council to return to the Temple, forcing him to cut his evening short. He told Amidala that duty comes first, especially in times of war.
Before the Council, he was told that they needed a spy in the Senate to spy on Senator Rush Clovis, who was suspected of being a Separatist supporter. However, they could not afford to have Jedi taking official action in this, thus they needed to convince Amidala to join their cause, as she was close to Clovis. Though Skywalker did not believe that she would be right for the job, the Masters insisted on him appointing her, because she trusted him; Yoda had attempted to enlist her but was rebuffed.
The next day, at the Senate, Skywalker located his wife, who obviously resented his leaving her the previous night. He asked her about Clovis, and she said she already told Yoda she did not want to spy on him, as he was a colleague and an old friend. She thought Skywalker was trying to persuade her to do this mission, but he was merely gathering information for whoever else would end up doing it. However, when Amidala learned that Clovis was collaborating with the Separatists, she immediately agreed to do it. Skywalker tried to convince her not to, considering that it may be dangerous, but she reminded him that duty comes first.
They both went before the Jedi Council, where Amidala admitted that she had not seen Clovis for a long time. They were close in the past, but she wanted to maintain a professional relationship, which he took very hard. The Masters encouraged her to regain his trust in finding out his treachery.
Amidala and Clovis met at a bar, where he explained that he planned to going to Cato Neimoidia to negotiate with the Trade Federation; he offered her to come along, for political and personal reasons. As they were preparing to depart, Skywalker, being the pilot for Amidala's ship, became jealous when Clovis kissed her on both cheeks. He assisted them with getting seated on the ship, preparing a seat for Amidala, and breaking the one next to it, so that it could not get fastened. On takeoff, he jerked the ship around to prevent Clovis from kissing Amidala again.
As soon as they arrived on Cato Neimoidia, they were greeted by Neimoidian Senator Lott Dod. Amidala was shown to her quarters, while Dod and Clovis discussed "business" with Poggle the Lesser. Dod and Poggle realized that Amidala was Clovis' weakness and planned to poison her to force him to cooperate.
While Skywalker and R2-D2 waited outside for Amidala's signal, she got into an elegant dress for dinner with the other Senators. Dod tricked her into sharing his drink after smearing the rim with poison. Once dinner was finished, Clovis took Amidala on a tour of the palace, both unaware of the symptoms of the poison, including thirst and head throbbing. While Clovis went to fetch a drink, Amidala attempted to access the palace's files, but was barred by the computer's demand for a passcode. She soon figured out that it is her name, and saw the diagram from Dooku's new droid foundry. She then signaled Skywalker, who snuck into her quarters. As soon as she took the disc plans, she hid them from Clovis, who had entered the room. When he asked to hold her hand, she spontaneously embraced him to hide the disc. She noticed Skywalker in the shadows, his face bursting with anger and jealousy, but she calmed him down by brandishing the disc. She discreetly gave it to him, but as he slipped away, Amidala passed out. Clovis reported this to Dod, but was informed that Amidala was a spy. At first he refused to believe it, but was convinced when he found the disc missing. He angrily confronted her for betraying him, but then Skywalker entered, demanding that he step away from her. Clovis ultimately offered to get the antidote in exchange for the disc, but Skywalker threatened him with dealing with Dod instead. If Dod were told that Clovis lost the disc, he would kill him. Clovis realized that he loved Amidala enough to save her, and agreed to help them back to the ship before Dod found anything out.
As they carried her back to the ship, they ran into Dod and his aides. Clovis attempted to bluff his way out, but Dod refused to let them leave, so Clovis pulled out a blaster. Dod was forced to give up the antidote, and the three ran away. However, Skywalker purposely left Clovis on the planet, as he himself injected Amidala with the antidote.[68]
Second Battle of Geonosis
Returning to the galactic capital of Coruscant, Skywalker and Amidala reported their findings to the Jedi Council. Afterward, Generals Plo Koon and Skywalker and the latter's Padawan, Commander Ahsoka Tano, were assigned to reinforce the planet Dorin, which had been attacked by a Separatist fleet led by General Grievous in an effort to keep the Jedi's attention away from Geonosis. The Republic defeated the Separatists, with Tano achieving 55 kills, while Skywalker achieved 76.[123]
They joined the Republic fleet in orbit of Geonosis and prepared strategically for the attack on Poggle's droid foundries on the planet. High Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ki-Adi-Mundi with Jedi General Skywalker would lead the Grand Army's attack on the primary droid foundry.
When the Republic's capital ships descended upon Geonosis, Skywalker's assault force—including Captain Rex and Commander Tano—departed after Kenobi's. Skywalker's gunship was one of the first to be shot down, but the Jedi's team managed to break free from the wreckage and used the fallen craft as cover from the nearby Geonosian gunners and blaster cannons.
Left on their own, Skywalker, Tano, Rex, and their men traveled on foot to reach the enemy cannons. They arrived at the massive gun emplacement fortress and were forced to take cover from the assailing battle droids high above. With the large amounts of laser barrages from above, Skywalker and Tano each took a backpack filled with thermal detonators and ran toward the adjacent cliff, using grappling hooks to scale the face in order to set their charges to topple the wall. Captain Rex joined the two Jedi on the top of the barrier, helping them to defeat a pair droidekas that were soon deployed from hatches. After Skywalker and Tano had tossed their primed detonator-filled backpacks into the hatches, they and Rex jumped off the wall shortly before it exploded. The Jedi used the Force to slow their fall and hold back the rubble. With the wall destroyed, Skywalker, Tano, and their forces pressed toward Kenobi's position.
Joining forces with Mundi, Skywalker contacted Admiral Yularen to request air support. Having reallocated resources since Commander Jet's previous request, Yularen dispatched a free Y-wing squadron to the rendezvous point, where Kenobi and Cody's forces were suffering numerous casualties at the hands of the Geonosians initiating flying attacks from the sky and attack runs on the ground. As the Jedi Master prepared to take up arms alongside his men in what he believed would be a final stand against the Geonosians, the Y-wing bombers arrived, dropping their munitions on the advancing Separatist tanks. With the rest of his troops pressing on, Kenobi was greeted by the arrival of Skywalker, Tano, Mundi, and the rest of the forces.
The Jedi and their clone officers convened on the task still at hand: the destruction of the shield generator. Skywalker would lead a small squad into the shield and jam the Geonosians' scanners, rendering them unable to target the incoming AT-TE walkers. Once the walkers had taken out the shield, Mundi would then bring the rest of the troops in with the gunships. After all of the Republic forces were in position, Skywalker and Tano initiated their attack and charged through the shield with their men. Exchanging fire with the Geonosians, the Jedi and troopers took cover and threw EMP grenades at the proton and LR1K cannons, temporarily disabling the Separatist guns. Unopposed by heavy fire, the AT-TE walkers marched through the shield and blasted the artillery stations and shield generator. As the shield was deactivated, Mundi and his gunships landed with additional reinforcements, and all of the Geonosians in the area were forced to surrender.
While they were recuperating, Skywalker and Tano tallied their kills: Skywalker got 55 and Tano got 60. However, Skywalker said that since he called in the air strike, it was a tie. The injured Generals Kenobi and Mundi were being taken to the gunships with Skywalker's expectations to see both of them back in action by the time the main droid foundry had been destroyed. Mundi then stated that his kills were 65, asking what he won. Skywalker answered, "My everlasting respect," to which Kenobi explained that respect was a rare gift for Skywalker to bestow.[124]
Skywalker's forces combined with Ki-Adi-Mundi's remaining troops and formed a staging area across from Poggle the Lesser's primary foundry, which was nearing completion.[125] The Republic's forces were separated from the foundry by a thin bridge that spanned a deep canyon. In anticipation of stiff resistance from the foundry's defenders, Skywalker called in reinforcements from General Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee. While Tano was briefing her clone squad on the battle plan, Skywalker kept finishing her sentences. Once the briefing was over, she demanded of him why he was interrupting her, which made her believe he did not trust her. Skywalker defended himself by saying that he just wanted to get the job done right, but this only strengthened Tano's irritation. They were arguing just as Unduli and Offee arrived to discuss the plan of attack. Although General Skywalker had been preparing for a direct assault via the bridge, General Unduli offered an alternative: the infiltration of the catacombs that ran beneath the foundry. By using these complex passageways, the Jedi could reach the foundry's control room and plant explosives on the main reactor, destroying the facility from within. It was decided that the mission to destroy the reactor would be undertaken by Tano and Barriss Offee, the latter of who had memorized all two hundred junctions between the catacomb's tunnels in preparation. Skywalker was uncertain if Tano was ready for this, but she insisted she was. While the Padawans were infiltrating the catacombs, Generals Skywalker and Unduli would lead their forces in a forward assault on the foundry's main entrance as a distraction.
The four Jedi set their plan into motion, with Tano and Offee descending the canyon wall to reach the catacomb's entry point as the two generals marched their forces onto the bridge parade-style, followed closely by AT-TEs. Unduli asked Skywalker why he did not want Tano participating, to which he did not answer. Skywalker and Unduli's men were met by a large force of battle droids marching forth from the foundry, followed by Geonosian warriors launching surprise attacks from the spires behind the Republic force. Afterward, they were assaulted by several squads of droidekas that were quickly destroyed by rockets and AT-TEs. In response, Poggle the Lesser authorized the use of experimental super tanks at the urging of his tactical droid, TX-21. Twenty of the tanks left the foundry, approached the Republic forces, and were immediately fired upon by AV-7 Antivehicle Cannons. The ray shielded tanks were unaffected by the cannon fire and opened fire themselves, destroying the AV-7s, decimating the Republic's infantry, and forcing Skywalker and Unduli to fall back.
Unduli and Skywalker then devised a plan to defeat the tanks on the bridge. The two climbed onto the underbelly of the bridge and planted explosives along its length. Upon reaching the opposite side of the bridge, they triggered the explosives, causing the bridge to collapse and take the tanks with it into the canyon. Evacuation ships arrived shortly afterward in anticipation of the explosion that would destroy the foundry. Later than expected, the Padawans contacted them, saying their explosives had been taken away and their only hope was to use a super tank they had acquired to destroy the foundry reactor and burying themselves in the process. Skywalker fervently ordered them not to do it, but they turned off the comlink. Moments later, a massive chain of explosions issued, leveling the foundry.
When the smoke cleared, Skywalker and Unduli were standing on the edge of a vast crater filled with debris that had once been the foundry. After failing to reach Tano on her communicator, a determined General Skywalker ordered that the rubble be moved. As LAAT carriers began to lift the wreckage, General Unduli argued that Skywalker should simply accept his student's fate. Deep below the surface, in the cockpit of the super tank, Tano and Offee struggled to stay conscious. In an effort to contact her master, Tano fashioned a communicator out of a power cell from the tank, something she had learned from Skywalker. Receiving the signal, Skywalker deduced where it came from and rushed over to a pile of debris. With the aid of Unduli, he lifted it with the Force to reveal the tank. The two Padawans crawled out, finally reuniting with their masters. Unduli admitted to Tano that her master never lost faith in her.[126]
Tano and Barriss left the battlefield to recuperate, while Unduli set out on a speeder to find Poggle the Lesser. She and her clone companion Buzz followed Poggle's trail, as they braved through a sandstorm. They tracked Poggle to the Progate Temple. Unduli then holographically called Kenobi, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Skywalker in one of the Republic Acclamator ships, reporting that she had found what seemed to be a munitions container. She was advised by Kenobi via hologram to wait for support, but moments later Buzz's scream was heard and contact was lost. Skywalker eagerly wanted to go help, but the other Masters advised to wait until the storm was over.
After the storm, Skywalker and Kenobi brought a squad to the temple. Cody found Buzz's body and Kenobi found Unduli's lightsaber. They then saw a statue of what seemed to be a Geonosian queen's head above the archway of a dark tunnel. They went through the archway, entering a strange maze. Shortly after, Unduli contacted Kenobi, telling them not to enter the temple, before she was subdued. Then, Kenobi and Skywalker were attacked by undead Geonosians, who were able to move even if shot or hacked; there was also something worm-like moving through their face openings. Kenobi, Skywalker and the squad managed to save themselves by going down a tunnel. Kenobi remembered rumors of a hive mind able to control Geonosians, even after they were dead. Because they were too deep underground to contact Mundi, Kenobi sent two clones to head back to the surface and call for help. Unfortunately, they were killed by the zombies before they could do so. Kenobi thus suggested that the rest of them should stick together.
They eventually found Unduli, held in energy bonds before the Geonosian Queen. Skywalker prepared to charge in, but Kenobi had a different strategy. He told Cody to have his men surround the place, before blinding the zombies and burying them. The Jedi approached the queen, her thralls letting them pass. Kenobi diplomatically told her to surrender, but the queen refused, intending on controlling the Jedi with her brain worms. Skywalker activated his lightsaber, but Kenobi gestured for him to stay put. One of the zombies approached Unduli with a worm, but before it could snake its way up her nose, Kenobi gave the signal, and Cody and his men surprise the Geonosians. They saved Unduli and took Poggle prisoner. Unduli asked why they had come despite her telling them not to. Kenobi said he followed Skywalker's example for once, and disobeyed orders.
Kenobi intended to study the worm that was going to be used on Unduli, but Skywalker squished it with his boot, saying they should get out. They attempted to escape the collapsing temple, with the zombies after them. As they made their way up the hole that led to the surface, a few zombies followed them. Then, a rush of dust pushed them up. They escaped before the entire temple caved in, probably burying the queen.[127]
Brain worm skirmish
With Poggle under custody, the Jedi prepared to leave Geonosis. However, they received news that the Ord Cestus medical station needed supplies. While the Jedi delivered Poggle to Coruscant, Skywalker suggested Tano and Offee to be in a supply ship to the station.
The Padawans set off, but the ship did not check in as schedule reported. Skywalker began to worry, but they eventually managed to establish contact with the ship. Tano informed them that the ship's crew had been taken over by Geonosian brain worms.
Skywalker interrogated Poggle, but the latter refused to say how the worms could be defeated. Enraged, Skywalker briefly tapped into the dark side and began choking Poggle with the Force. Eventually, Poggle confessed that the worms could be defeated with cold temperature.
Skywalker managed to contact Tano to relay the information. Later, he found Tano recovering from a fight with Offee, who had been infected by the worms for a short period of time. Kit Fisto arrived and told the Jedi Knight and his Padawan that the brain worms in the ship had been contained. After Fisto left, Skywalker congratulated Tano for saving the crew. However, Tano revealed to her Master that Offee wanted Tano to kill her during their fight. Skywalker consoled his Padawan, telling her that Offee would have done anything to save the crew from the worms, even sacrificing her own life in the process.[128]
Conflict on Valahari
- "Skywalker? The great hero of the Republic? With one thousand nine hundred and eighty starfighter kills?"
- ―Tofen Vane to Anakin Skywalker
Skywalker and Kenobi were sent to the planet Valahari for negotiations. Although it had declared neutrality in the Clone Wars, Valahari was supplying the Separatists with newer, more advanced ships. While Kenobi negotiated with Harko Vane, the Viscount of Valahari, Skywalker podraced with Tofen, Harko's son. Eventually, Harko declined Kenobi's offer to join the Republic and the Republic forces blockaded Valahari. Vane tried to break the blockade, however, the Valiant, Vane's ship, was suddenly destroyed by Asajj Ventress in an effort to blame the Republic. Valahari joined the Separatists and Skywalker was exiled to a remote outpost on Ryloth.[129]
However, Skywalker returned to active duty when a squadron of Valahari ships called Tofen's Raiders was destroying Republic fleets. The Republic forces faced the Valahari's squadron in the Hexus system. There, Skywalker discovered that Tofen was the squadron's leader. Tofen shot Skywalker down, but before he could kill him, reinforcements arrived and drove Valahari's forces off. However, Skywalker managed to place a homing beacon in Tofen's ship.[130]
Skywalker received a prototype of the Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor, the best starfighter created by Kuat Systems Engineering. The Republic found Tofen's base, Harko Station, in the Veil Nebula. The Republic assaulted the station, but the Valahari activated a signal that led the local neebrays to attack the Republic forces. However, Shadow Squadron managed to destroy the station and thus disable the signal. Skywalker then engaged Tofen in a dogfight. During their battle, Anakin tried to reason with Tofen, revealing to him that it was Count Dooku who killed his father, not the Republic. But Tofen refused to listen and he kept fighting. Suddenly, Tofen's engines were critically hit, setting his fighter aflame. Anakin towed Tofen's fighter to a Republic ship. However, Tofen's burns were fatal and he died in Anakin's arms, but not before asking him for justice for his father's death. Elodore Vane, Tofen's mother, then exiled Count Dooku from Valahari, stopped their engagement and announced that Valahari would stop supporting both sides of the conflict.[131]
Hunt for Grievous
When Master Eeth Koth was captured by Grievous in a battle near the Arda system, Grievous sent a holotransmission to the Jedi Council in which he had one of his MagnaGuards torture Koth. In the message, Grievous expressed his desire to see all of the Jedi dead, but Plo Koon noticed a coded message in Koth's hand gestures within the message, and the decoded message revealed Grievous to be in the Saleucami system. Adi Gallia, Skywalker, and Kenobi were dispatched with a fleet to rescue Koth, and they came up with a battle plan: Admiral Yularen and Kenobi would engage Grievous's forces over Saleucami, and Kenobi would allow his light cruiser to be boarded by Grievous to distract him. When Grievous fell for the bait, Skywalker, Gallia, Rex, and a group of clone troopers would execute a hyperspace jump into the system in their shuttle that would bring them right alongside Grievous's destroyer, allowing them to rescue Koth.[132]
When Grievous boarded Kenobi's cruiser as planned, Skywalker piloted their shuttle through the ongoing space battle and through the hollow hull plates of Grievous's destroyer, landing the ship on the destroyer's underbelly, where Skywalker carved a hole in the destroyer's hull with his lightsaber for the Jedi and troopers to use to access the warship. Boarding the destroyer, Skywalker and Gallia ordered Rex and his men to guard their shuttle while they headed to the bridge to rescue Koth. Cutting through the battle droid patrols that they encountered as they moved through the ship, Skywalker and Gallia reached the bridge to find the tactical droid TV-94 and a squad of droid commandos guarding Koth, as Grievous had anticipated the rescue attempt. When TV-94 attempted to electrocute Koth, Skywalker pulled the droid towards him with the Force and severed the arm that had the controls to the machinery torturing Koth.[132]
In the ensuing melee, the commando droids attacked Gallia and Skywalker as TV-94 struggled to reclaim his arm and kill Koth, but the two Jedi were able to destroy the droids and free Koth before the tactical droid succeeded. Making their way back to the shuttle, the three were contacted Kenobi, who informed them that Grievous had escaped and was returning to his ship, so Gallia departed to intercept the general before he escaped Kenobi's cruiser while Skywalker took Koth to the shuttle. Kenobi and Gallia's attempts to capture Grievous with the help of Commander Cody ultimately failed when the Separatist destroyer began to fire on Kenobi's cruiser, and the three escaped Grievous's destroyer aboard Skywalker's shuttle as Grievous fled his damaged warship to Saleucami's surface.[132]
While Kenobi led the hunt for Grievous on the planet's surface, Skywalker assumed command of the naval battle, deploying all of his starfighters in an effort to eliminate Grievous's destroyer. Despite opposition from the remaining Separatist forces and reinforcements in the form of three additional Munificent-class frigates, Skywalker's fighters were able to destroy most of the enemy droid starfighters, and the arrival of four Republic Venator-class Star Destroyers ensured that the Republic emerged victorious.[132]
Later, Skywalker and his Padawan went on a mission in the Coruscant underlevels to capture Car Affa—a Weequay arms dealer who sold Republic weapons to the Separatists. Skywalker apprehended the criminal in a bar, but Tano had her lightsaber stolen while waiting outside. However, she managed to recover it, without telling her master.[133]
Coronet plot
Following speculation that Mandalore had left the Republic for the Separatists, Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to the planet to speak to his friend and ruler of the planet, Duchess Satine Kryze. Several attempts were made both on the lives of Kenobi and Kryze, the Duchess decided to voyage to Coruscant, where she would plead Mandalore's cause in person in front of the Galactic Senate. Skywalker, accompanied by Captain Rex and Commander Cody, led the starship Coronet to Mandalore to escort Kryze. During the voyage, Rex voiced his concerns from the cargo hold, citing the disappearance of two troopers and the increased jitters of R2-D2. Skywalker volunteered to investigate matters himself, and discovered a large cargo hold of assassin probe droids lurking in the darkness. Although he, Rex, Cody, and R2-D2 were able to hold back most of them, one escaped up into the turbolift, to the direct threat of Kryze and her entourage. With the droid in his grasp, Kenobi used the probe's attacking programming to discover the assassin, Senator Tal Merrik, although the politician quickly unleashed a blaster pistol and pressed it to Kryze's head, holding the Duchess hostage. Racing up from the cargo hold, Skywalker discovered Merrik's reinforcements, shiploads full of super battle droids intent on taking the Coronet and Kryze for the Mandalorian opposition leader Pre Vizsla. Dispatching the droids with relative ease, Skywalker was able to sneak up behind Merrik while the would-be assassin was in the midst of a stalemate with Kenobi and Kryze and stabbed him in the back, ending the ship's imminent danger and allowing Kryze to travel the remainder of the voyage to Coruscant in peace.[134]
Sometime after these events, Skywalker and Capt. Rex later dropped off Tano, at the behest of Duchess Kryze and the Jedi Council, on Mandalore to instruct cadets at the Royal Academy of Government. Due to the Jedi's limited resources, Skywalker was not able to join his Padawan. Before leaving to join up with Master Fisto, Skywalker took his Padawan's lightsaber to respect Mandalore's laws. After Tano exposed Prime Minister Almec's black market, Skywalker returned his Padawan's lightsaber to her and congratulated her on a job well done.[135] When Skywalker and Tano returned to the Jedi Temple, the Jedi Council ordered Skywalker to command the Third Legion on Balith to give assistance in their civil war. The council, however, wanted Tano to stay behind so she could give the council her full report. Despite pleas from Tano to let her come along, Skywalker told her that she should use this time in the library to prove him wrong about the council's decision. Skywalker then left with Capt. Rex to Balith. When Tano returned after foiling Aurra Sing's assassination attempt on Senator Amidala's life at her refugee conference, Skywalker welcomed his wife and his Padawan back, but wondered who paid Sing to kill Amidala. After Tano uses her improved precognitive abilities to find out who is behind the assassination attempt, Amidala realizes who it is. Skywalker and his Padawan then went to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center to question Ziro the Hutt. Skywalker's Padawan was able to trick Ziro into confessing that he did hire Sing for the job. After Ziro's confession, Skywalker and his Padawan left Ziro to his misery.[136]
Trap on Vanqor
Skywalker, along with Master Windu, took a brief respite aboard the Jedi Cruiser Endurance. The starship was later sabotaged by Boba Fett, who wanted to exact revenge on Mace Windu for killing his father. His sabotage attempt put many young clones at risk, but they were rescued by Skywalker and Windu.[137]
Windu and Skywalker then transferred the survivors to a Republic medical ship, before heading down to the planet to look for survivors. Skywalker pointed out upon coming across the ship that, whilst it was in a terrible shape, the bridge appeared to be in one piece. The two Jedi set down behind the ship, at which point R2-D2 beeped that he had a "bad feeling about this place," and Windu chastised Skywalker for encouraging individuality in his droid. Windu, Skywalker, R2 and R8-B7 proceeded to the ship, unaware of gundarks following them.[138]
Once inside, the Jedi came across clone troopers killed not by the crash but by execution; Windu theorized that those who tried to assassinate him may have come down looking for his body and killed the survivors. The droids were sent to search for survivors whilst the Jedi head to the bridge. In the process of their search, R2 and R8 were attacked by a pair of gundarks: R8 was ripped apart and R2 was knocked across the floor.[138]
Meanwhile, Anakin then spotted a Mandalorian helmet. Mace then realized that the saboteur was none other than the clone template Jango Fett's son, Boba. Luckily, the Jedi Master was able to save Anakin from the full blast. R2, realizing that Skywalker and Windu were in danger, returned to the bridge and saw Windu unconscious and Skywalker wounded, both buried under rubble. Skywalker told R2 to get a message to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and R2 delivered it to Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano, who rescued the two Jedi.[138]
After spending time in a bacta tank at the Temple, Anakin urged Windu to track Boba Fett down and bring him to justice. Mace did not agree to do this until Koon and Tano showed them a message from Fett and Aurra Sing, which showed that the pair took hostages. After seeing Commander Ponds killed in cold blood by Sing, Windu decided to go. Koon, however, said that he will go, along with Tano, since both Windu and Skywalker were still recovering from their injuries.[139]
Third Battle of Kamino
Forewarned by the destruction of Rishi Station and an intercepted transmission between Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, Anakin and Obi-Wan traveled to Kamino to warn Shaak Ti and Lama Su of an upcoming Separatist attack, with clone troopers Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Broadside, Echo, and Fives in their company, with the rest of the 501st.
Shortly, Grievous's Separatist fleet arrived, and a space battle ensued. Anakin led the Republic space forces against the attackers, scoring several serious hits against the enemy—or so it seemed. Suspicious, Obi-Wan traveled underwater, where he discovered that the pieces of debris falling into the Kaminoan ocean were actually components for assault craft being assembled by Aqua droids.
The finished Trident-Class attack ships assaulted Tipoca City, depositing many battle droids and aqua droids, led by Grievous and Ventress. Grievous attacked the barracks to destroy all the clones he could find there, while Ventress headed for the main DNA storage to secure the prime DNA sample of the clones' template, Jango Fett. Obi-Wan returned to the city and recalled Anakin, who was fighting droid forces in Kamino's atmosphere. Meanwhile, Captain Rex and Commander Cody met some cadets along with fellow clone troopers Fives and Echo. Together, the clones attacked many droids, until more droids led by Grievous found and attacked the clones. But then, Obi-wan Kenobi began to duel the cyborg. In the DNA chamber, Anakin and Asajj began to duel, using their own lightsabers. After a fairly long lightsaber duel, with the help of a clone trooper platoon, only then was Anakin able to recover the DNA sample, but Ventress escaped in a Kaminoan starship a beaten Grievous stole from a Kamino landing pad near the site of his battle with Kenobi.[140]
Senate hostage crisis
- "Young Skywalker… Not so impressive without your lightsaber, are you, Jedi?"
- ―Cad Bane to an unconscious Skywalker
Following a failed assassination attempt on Senator Amidala employing the services of bounty hunter Aurra Sing, Ziro the Hutt was interrogated by Anakin and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano in his prison cell, during which he confessed his involvement in the matter. This effectively extended his prison sentence;[136] however, because of sensitive information in his possession, Jabba the Hutt and the Hutt Grand Council hired the renowned bounty hunter Cad Bane to break him out of the detention center.[142]
Visiting his wife, Padmé Amidala, in her office at the Republic Executive Building, Skywalker asked her to sneak away with him on a meditative retreat. Amidala denied this request, stating she had a bill to present before the Galactic Senate. They discussed their marriage, though Amidala thought Skywalker was just teasing her. After stating "There's nothing more important than the way I feel about you," he gave her his lightsaber as a sign of trust. The two shared a kiss, then were interrupted by C-3PO's and Senator Organa's voices. Skywalker hid under Amidala's desk, not being able to retrieve his lightsaber. Amidala was forced to hide it while she met with other senators about the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill. Meanwhile, Cad Bane's posse arrived at the Senate Building, and killed the Senate Commandos guarding the landing platform.[141]
The bounty hunters then captured the senators, including Padmé Amidala, Riyo Chuchi, and Bail Organa. Robonino shut off the building's power, catching Skywalker's attention. Skywalker located the hostages, but got spotted by Bane. He found and hot-wired a terminal with his comlink and contacted Palpatine, who advised him to get to the central power core and turn off the security seals. Skywalker hid as Bane's men—an IG-86 sentinel droid and Shahan Alama—came by, the latter of whom Skywalker used a mind trick on, making them both go check the other floors. Skywalker then went searching around the building, ran into the IG-86 sentinel droid, and beat it to destruction with his bare hands. He eventually found the power core, but before he could reach it, Alama engaged him in a short battle. Skywalker managed to steal his blaster, but it was soon shot out of his hands by Aurra Sing. Robonino was then able to stun Skywalker with a hand held stun device. The bounty hunters brought him to Bane, who then had them put explosive lasers around the senators and the Jedi Knight. After Skywalker regained consciousness, Amidala handed him his lightsaber, which he then used to cut a hole in the floor in order to get the senators to safety.[141]
Political chaos
Farther into the war, Skywalker trained Tano to fight with a shoto along with her original lightsaber. Despite the Republic's numerous victories, the clone army was suffering higher casualties as the battles escalated. The Galactic Senate called an emergency session in the wake of this issue, which Skywalker and Tano watched from the Grand Concourse. After the session, Padmé pleaded with her husband to convince the High Council to discuss the ending of the war campaign with the Chancellor, but Skywalker denies to be involved with the situation. However, Tano disagreed, which caused Skywalker to request that Amidala teach his Padawan about politics. However, the two women crossed the boundaries by illegally travelling to Raxus, the capital planet of the Separatists. After their return to Coruscant, Skywalker briefly spoke with fellow Jedi Eekar Oki before scolding his Padawan for her actions.
Skywalker often entrusted Tano to resolving political intrigue; for example, he encouraged Tano in helping to resolve political intrigue surrounding the kidnapping of Baron Notluwiski Papanoida of Orto Plutonia's daughters Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe. Her resourcefulness led the Council to appoint her to an undercover assignment on Mandalore following the uncovering of a net of corrupt politicians, which her master both escorted her to, and then took her away, after she had completed her mission.
Hunting Savage Opress
After the Battle of Sullust, Skywalker assumed that Ventress was killed. After, Masters Yoda and Windu had shown Kenobi footage of a massacre on Devaron, Anakin accompanied Obi-wan on his search for this monster presumably a kin of Darth Maul, so they headed for the Sith Lord's homeworld. During their brief battle with the warriors of the village, Skywalker was able to take Brother Viscus as a hostage, who told them that Mother Talzin should know of this monster's whereabouts. Though Talzin had initially tried to avoid giving them direct answer, she eventually showed and told them the monster's name and whereabouts. The two Jedi then headed to Toydaria where they had a confrontation with Savage, but failed to stop him from killing King Katuunko. At last meeting the feral being that had killed two Jedi and multiple Clones, the two Jedi tried to restrain him, however, were pushed off and trapped underneath a Toydarian hovering pod. After Savage had destroyed their ship, they borrowed the king's ship. In space above Toydaria, Skywalker and Kenobi caught up with Opress on Dooku's Separatist flagship, but he charged right towards them and striked so hard with his double-bladed lightsaber that they flew into the corrididor wall. Though they cut off one of his horns, the bulky Zabraak overpowered them and forced them on the defense through the ship's corridors. In the main hangar, the Battledroids fired at Savage, who managed to fend them off with a powerful Force push and escaped. Skywalker and Obi-Wan then retreated and left the ship.
Revelation on Mortis
When the Jedi Council received a 2,000 year old distress signal from the Chrelythiumn system, Skywalker, along with Kenobi and Tano, were sent to investigate. Fearing a Separatist trap, they were supposed to meet up with Captain Rex and an armed cruiser at the coordinates. Though they both reached the location, neither Skywalker nor Rex could see each other. All of a sudden a crystal shaped structure appeared and pulled the Jedi's ship towards itself. The crew passed out and when they regained consciousness, they found themselves on a strange world that was radiant with the Force. Skywalker was then approached by the Daughter who asked if he was the One, then told them to follow her. On the way, a rock slide separated Kenobi and Tano from Daughter and Skywalker. Despite Daughter's warning to wait there, Skywalker tried to follow her. However, he lost her, and had to find shelter in a cave from a storm before he spotted a monastery's beacon. As soon as the storms let up Skywalker hastened to the monastery where he met the Father, who gave him shelter.
Later, Skywalker was visited by an apparition of his mother. Skywalker, knowing that she was dead, could not believe that was her. She told Anakin that she knew that he defined his guilt by what he had done: massacring the Tusken Raiders and his secret marriage to Padmé Amidala. When Skywalker tried to confront her, she changed into a monster, revealing that she was actually the Son. Skywalker confronted the Father, pointing a lightsaber at him, under the assumption that he was a Sith Lord. The Father replied to this by stating he was neither Sith nor Jedi. He told Skywalker that he and his children were Force-wielders, beings so strong in the ways of the Force that they could not dwell in the material world anymore; as a result, they had retreated to this planet to contain their powers by attaining balance within and cutting off any influences from the outside world.
The Father asked Skywalker about the Chosen One, which he believed to be merely a myth. After hearing Skywalker's reply, the Father gave him an offer. If Skywalker would pass a test, he and his friends were free to leave. The following morning he had to face an impossible choice—Son and Daughter had kidnapped Tano and Kenobi as they went looking for him, and Skywalker had to choose which one to save. Kenobi reminded him that the planet was actually the Force itself. Skywalker, using the Force, was then able to tame both the Children, who changed back into their human form. The old man told Skywalker that while he had passed the test, he still had to learn about the true nature within himself. He revealed that he had been dying, and asked Skywalker to take his place as the balancing element between his children, or otherwise endanger the galaxy with his selfishness if he left. Skywalker chose to leave, although he was strangely hesitant to do so.
However, before the Jedi's ship could exit the planet's atmosphere, Son abducted Tano, correctly assuming that the Jedi would not leave her behind. After a lengthy pursuit, Skywalker lost track of Son and almost crashed into a giant tower. After a none-too-elegant landing, Skywalker decided to go and rescue his Padawan, despite Kenobi's concern about disturbing the balance of the Force in their own universe as well.
When Skywalker finally managed to climb to the garden of the tower, he found Tano, brainwashed by the Son's influence, her eyes bearing the yellow hue of the dark side's taint. There she told him Son's message: if Skywalker refused to join him, he would kill Tano, and if Skywalker tried to stop Son, he would be forced to kill the girl himself. Then the two engaged in a duel, with Skywalker continuously retreating, unwilling to hurt his student. Soon, Kenobi arrived to join forces with his former Padawan while Son and Daughter started their own combat inside the tower's throne room.
When it became obvious that the conflict could not go on any further without injury, Kenobi suggested killing the Son with a dagger in order to cut Tano free of is control. However, before they act on this plan, Father arrived and interrupted both fights. However, he had grown too weak to fend off the Son's Force lightning. Kenobi—in hope of defeating the Son—threw the dagger to Skywalker. However, Tano was quicker to catch it and took it over to the Son, who then seemingly killed her with a touch to her forehead. Then he attempted to murder his father with the dagger. To his great dismay, his sister took the blow, and he fled, raging. Skywalker asked the Father to help Tano, but he answered that without light, there was no hope for her either. Skywalker replied, crying, that there was always hope. Hearing his pain, the Daughter asked the help of her father, to give her remaining life-energy to Tano. Not wishing to deny the dying wish of his child, the Father showed Skywalker how to transfer the Daughter's life into his Padawan. After a few frightening seconds, Tano came back to life while the glowing of the Daughter's body faded away. Seeing Tano alive, Skywalker knelt to his Padawan and hugged her. He asked her if she was okay, but she seemed to forget what happened. After this, the Father ordered the Jedi to leave immediately, so the Son would not be able to leave Mortis with their ship.
However, the ship had been damaged when Anakin had crash landed it, so the Jedi were stranded. Skywalker, not convinced that the Son could be easily contained on the planet, returned on a speeder to see the Father, offering his help in killing the Son. The Father directed him toward the Well of the Dark Side with the warning not to underestimate the Son. On the way, Skywalker encountered an apparition of Qui-Gon Jinn. Skywalker confided his doubts to the apparition about what he should do with the Son. The Force spirit told him to trust his instincts and that he would find a way.
When he arrived at the "well," he confronted the Son only to have his lightsaber pulled out of his hand. The Son then offered to show him the future. Skywalker tried to resist, but could not keep out the visions that assaulted his mind. He saw himself killing younglings, choking Amidala as she begged for mercy, the true face of Sidious, fighting Kenobi, destroying Alderaan, and his transformation into the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. He eventually fell to his knees while the smoke behind him formed the shape of the face of Darth Vader. Skywalker collapsed, close to tears and horrified at the revelation of the monster he would become, knowing he would go on to do terrible things. The Son agreed, but offered a way to change the future he saw, asking again for Skywalker to join him. Skywalker hesitated, but then submitted at the promise of peace.
Shortly afterward, Kenobi arrived, having gone looking for Skywalker. He found him poisoned by the dark side. Skywalker said that there had been "a change of plan." He telekinetically pushed the speeder he had arrived on into the surrounding lava. Skywalker told Kenobi that he could not understand, and he would try to stop him doing what he had to do. The Son then blasted Kenobi with lightning. Skywalker told him that the Jedi would get in the way of peace. Skywalker left on Kenobi's speeder, trapping him.
The corrupted Skywalker approached the shuttle that Tano had recently repaired, but Tano had received warning from Kenobi to stop both the Son and Skywalker from leaving the planet by sabotaging the ship. As he entered, she escaped with a vital part of the ship.
When the Son joined Skywalker, the Jedi told him that no one would be able to hear the distress signal he was sending. The Son told him that the Father still had control over the planet, but that he would soon be able to control it himself. Skywalker said that Kenobi and Tano would probably call the Father for help and that their combined powers could be enough to defeat them. The Son agreed and told Skywalker to wait while he went to find the Dagger of Mortis, which the Father had buried with the Daughter.
After the Son withdrew, Skywalker was confronted by the Father who demanded to know why he had joined with his Son. Skywalker said that he did not want what he had seen to come true, but the Father said that his destiny was not written in stone and his son had broken the laws of time by showing Skywalker his future. He then erased the visions from Skywalker's mind, rendering the Jedi unconscious. When he awoke, he was back at the monastery with no memory of his visions and brief fall to the dark side. They were then joined by Kenobi and Tano, who asked if he was alright. He told them he was fine, but that they needed to stop the Son.
At that moment, the son arrived holding the Mortis Dagger. The Father pleaded with him to renounce the dark side, but the Son simply sneered. The Jedi attacked, but the Son easily overpowered them. The Father suddenly summoned the Mortis Dagger to his hands. To the Son's surprise, the Father killed himself instead of the Son. As he lay dying, the Father revealed to the Son that their power was connected, and that with his death his power was broken. The Son refused to believe he was dying, saying that he loved his Father and it did not have to be this way. The Father told the Son that he had always believed there was good in him, and embraced him. Skywalker than ran the Son through with his lightsaber. The Son died, followed shortly by the Father whose last words were that now Skywalker had restored balance to Mortis, he had to do so to the entire galaxy, but also warned him to beware his feelings, as they might lead to his downfall. The Father then faded into the Force.
With all the Force-wielders dead, the planet began to break apart. A blinding white light enveloped the Jedi, and they found themselves back in the shuttle, seemingly moments before they had disappeared. Captain Rex contacted them, saying that they had disappeared of their scopes for a moment. Skywalker told him incredulously that they had been gone for more than a moment. Rex said that he did not understand, but Skywalker told him that even if he told him the truth, Rex would not believe him.
Rescuing Master Piell
- "It's when things do not go as planned that concerns me. What then?"
"It's when things don't go as planned that we Jedi are at our best. Trust me."
"I reserve my trust for those who take action, General Skywalker."
"Then let me remind you, we rescued you back there. And I reserve my trust for those who understand gratitude, Captain Tarkin" - ―Captain Tarkin and Skywalker verbally spar about the escape plan
After Master Even Piell was captured due to his knowledge of the Nexus Route, Skywalker, along with Master Kenobi, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, ARC Troopers Echo and Fives and three other clone troopers, was sent to rescue Master Piell from the "impenetrable" Separatist prison, the Citadel. Skywalker forbade his Padawan from coming on the mission, saying it would be too dangerous for her. When the rescue party reached the hangar of the Citadel, Skywalker devised a way to get past their scanners by being frozen in carbonite, thus stifling their life-readings. After the team was frozen, they were loaded onto the transport ship by R2-D2's battle droid squadron. The shuttle was able to get through thanks to Skywalker's strategy. When Skywalker was thawed out, he found, to his surprise, that Tano had disobeyed orders and followed him. The team reluctantly took her along.
When they reached the Citadel, the team was successful in rescuing Master Piell just before he would have lost his good eye to an interrogator droid. Skywalker asked if Piell found the Nexus Route. Piell told him that he memorized half the information while his captain, Wilhuff Tarkin, memorized the other half as a precaution in case he cracked under the interrogation. Skywalker and the rest of the team went to free Tarkin. On their way, they were ambushed by commando droids. The team was successful in defeating the first of commando droids, but when the second squad of commando droids came, Osi Sobeck activated magnets in the ceiling, ripping the team's weapons away and trapping Skywalker by attracting his prosthetic arm. As the rest of the team scrambled to defeat the droids with telekinesis and their bare hands, Skywalker, despite being brutally electrically shocked by Sobeck, was able to get his lightsaber and disable the magnet.
After the team defeated the commando droids, they rescued Tarkin and the rest of the officers. Skywalker and Kenobi then decided to split up to prevent the enemy from getting either half of the information. Kenobi took Piell and a couple of his officers with his group and Skywalker took Captain Tarkin and a couple of officer with him. Skywalker was then able to cut into an old tunnel. Skywalker was glad that things were going according to plan, though Tarkin expressed some skepticism about this plan and did not seem grateful for rescuing him. Skywalker told Tarkin that he reserved his trust to those who understood the meaning of Gratitude.[143] As Skywalker and his team made their way through the tunnels, Skywalker watched their rear, leaving his apprentice leading the team. When they reached a dead end, Skywalker destroyed a Recon Droid and then fought against super battle droids and commando droids armed with shields. Skywalker, Tano and the team were able to destroy the commando droids and blast the dead end open. Skywalker and his team then went into a fuel line. Along the way, Skywalker found that he and Tarkin believed that the Jedi did not take the initiative and did whatever it took. When they reached the exit of the fuel line they were ambushed by battle droids and Crab droids. Luckily, Skywalker was able to destroy them by throwing a grenade into the fuel line. Skywalker and his team then moved to Plan B, to meet up with Kenobi's team trying to reach the shuttle at the airfield. After the shuttle was destroyed, both teams fell back to some caves.[144]
After Master Piell contacted the Jedi Temple, Skywalker, Kenobi and the rest of team moved onto to the rendezvous point. When Skywalker's and Kenobi's team reached the lava lake, they were attacked by a large battle droid force. While R2's droid team held off the enemy, Skywalker went down a cliff with the rest of the team down to the lake's shore and escapes into a set of gullies. As they move on, Skywalker warned Tarkin not to upset Master Piell if he wanted to keep his career. Tarkin stated that the Supreme Chancellor would support him, to which Anakin stated that he too knew the Chancellor well.
When Tano asked Skywalker why Piell would share half the information with Tarkin. Skywalker told Tano that Tarkin felt that the Jedi should not be running the war, to which he replied that the Jedi were keepers of the peace, not soldiers. As Skywalker and Kenobi discussed Tarkin's haughty attitude towards the Jedi, they noticed the anooba trailing them, along with a squad of STAPs. Skywalker, Kenobi and R2 lured the creatures into an ambush, but the rest of the team itself was ambushed by crab droids and another group of STAPs. When Skywalker and Kenobi rejoined the team, Padawan Tano arrived carrying Master Piell's body, and told them that she had his half of the information. Skywalker, Kenobi and the rest of the team then took a brief moment to consign his body to the lava before moving on. When they reached the island, Skywalker and Cody fired extension cables, but were then ambushed by Sobeck and his commando droids on STAPs. After Sobeck's death, Master Koon arrived and picked them up. When they returned to the Temple, Skywalker shook hands with Tarkin before he left. Skywalker then told Kenobi that they could use more men like him to help them win the war.[145]
Return to Felucia
- "When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well."
- ―Tano thanking her master for his training
Skywalker, along with Padawan Tano, Master Plo Koon, and their clone officers Captain Rex and Commander Wolffe, traveled to Felucia to tend to reinforcements dispatched by General Grievous to an outpost to secure his hold on Felucia. Koon and Wolffe jumped in from one of the sides of outpost while Tano attacked from the rear. Skywalker and Rex, aided by Felucian scouts, would stage an ambush at the front of the outpost. When the outpost came under fire from the AT-TEs and Turbo Tanks, the droids were ambushed by Skywalker's men and the outpost was taken. When Skywalker asked one of Tano's men where she was, he was told that she was missing. Skywalker then proceeded to look for Tano, but Koon told Skywalker that he must return to Coruscant. At the Jedi Temple, Skywalker kept searching for her.[147] Eventually, Tano found her own way back and Skywalker apologized to her for bringing her on the mission and not being to careful, but Tano thanked him for because of him training her she survived.[146]
The Starcrusher trap
- "I've defied the Chancellor's orders. It's that rebellious streak of mine you keep cautioning me about, I'm afraid."
" Bless that rebellious streak! For once, you're right where I want you!" - ―Skywalker and Kenobi
During the war, Kenobi and Skywalker infiltrated a Separatist munitions factory on an asteroid. Skywalker joked that he had forgotten the explosives as Kenobi used his lightsaber to cut into the factory. Once inside they were surrounded by battle droids, but the two Jedi destroyed them and ventured deeper into the factory. Skywalker threw the explosives into the station's reactor, and the resulting explosion brought down the shields.[148]
Three Republic Venator-class star destroyers led by Captain Trask moved into position to destroy the factory, but the Separatist battleship Starcrusher ambushed the destroyers. The two Jedi were unaware of the destruction of the Republic fleet, and Skywalker called for extraction. The Jedi Knight Jyl Somtay, piloting a T-6 shuttle, arrived to pick them up. The three Jedi were able to fly past the Starcrusher and return to Coruscant, where the Jedi Council decided to send a team to hunt down the dangerous Separatist vessel, which included Kenobi, Somtay, Master Windu, Master Mundi, and Skywalker's Padawan. Chancellor Palpatine contacted Grand Master Yoda, and asked for the services of Skywalker.[148]
Skywalker met the Chancellor in his private office, where Palpatine presented a collection of seeds for Skywalker to take to the Daltarri inhabitants as a gesture of goodwill. Skywalker took R2 and his starfighter to the planet Daltarri and met the inhabitants, who agreed to aid the Republic. During his mission, Skywalker received a premonition of danger, and cut short his mission to Daltarri by two days.[148]
The Jedi assault team had gotten trapped on a decoy Starcrusher and were on the verge of crashing into a star when Skywalker arrived. At that time, the real Starcrusher arrived. Kenobi came up with a plan, and had Skywalker fly his fighter into the battleship's main hold, where he caused damage to the inside of the vessel. Skywalker proceeded to the vessel's power generator and destroyed it. Kenobi's plan involved magnetizing the hull of the decoy to cause the real Starcrusher to crash into it. The team then escaped using spacesuits, and Skywalker used a tow cable to pick up the team as the Separatist vessels disintegrated in the sun.[148]
The strike team then returned to Coruscant, and Skywalker met with Palpatine, who was not upset that he had cut his mission to Daltarri short. Upon his return to the Jedi Temple, he saw Tano and Somtay, who were going for caf and to discuss Skywalker.[148]
Civil war on Mon Calamari
After the assassination of Mon Calamari's King Yos Kolina, Skywalker, acting as bodyguard to Republic Senator Padmé Amidala, were sent at the behest of Kolina's chief military adviser, Capt. Gial Ackbar, to help steer the troubled planet away from an inevitable civil war between the Quarren and Mon Calamari. After the failure of the peace talks between the Quarren and the Mon Calamari, Skywalker, Amidala, and Captain. Ackbar contacted the Jedi Council. Skywalker informed them of how the Separatist ambassador, commander Riff Tamson, stirred up the Quarren against accepting Kolina's son, prince Lee-Char as their next leader. Master Mace Windu told Skywalker and Ackbar to prepare for an assault and that they were sending a company of Clone SCUBA troopers under Kit Fisto and Ahsoka Tano to reinforce them. When the Quarren, backed by Tamson and his Aqua droids, attacked Skywalker urged Ackbar to get the prince to safety. When the prince refused to do this, Skywalker fought alongside the Mon Calamari troops. Skywalker, along with Amidala, accompanied the prince as he tried to get troops behind the Quarren and droids but failed to do so. When Padmé asked for help in getting Mon Calamari senator Meena Tills to safety, Skywalker was attacked by a couple of Quarren who grabbed him and removed his helmet. Skywalker was able to get rid of the Quarren, but could not get to his helmet and was slowly drowning. Fortunately, Republic reinforcements and Ahsoka arrived just in time to save her master from drowning. When Tano gave Skywalker his helmet back, he told her that he had it under control. Skywalker then told her to get to prince Lee-Char and keep him safe. When the Quarren and the droids retreated, Skywalker regrouped with the Mon Calamari soldiers and Republic leaders. Unfortunately, Tamson brought in reinforcements in the form of Hydroid Medusas. Though he kept fighting against them, Skywalker told his Padawan to find a way out to retreat. Skywalker, along with Lee-Char, Tano, Tills, Amidala, Kit Fisto, and what remained of their army retreated through the Hydroid Medusa to caves on the seafloor.[149]
After Fisto contacted Masters Yoda and Mace Windu, Skywalker advised the prince that they should try reaching Amidala's and his ship. Though the prince wanted to stay for his people, was able to convince him to make a run for the ship. After Fisto distracted the Quarren, Skywalker and Tano took a couple of mini subs with the Prince, the senators, and Capt. Ackbar. Unfortunately Tamson anticipated this move, and he blew up their ship. After their ship's destruction, Skywalker and the rest of the group grabbed onto the debris. Skywalker and Ackbar agreed that they should split up in order to protect the prince. So Skywalker took Senators Amidala, Tills and Capt. Ackbar with him while Fisto took the prince, Tano, and Commander Monnk. Skywalker and his group then went to the Mon Calamari central planetary scanner mast. Once there, Skywalker used the power of the Force to tear apart the building. Skywalker and his group were then surrounded by the Quarren and Tamson's forces. Fortunately, the Gungan Grand Army was sent to them as the Republic's reinforcements. At first the tide was turning in their favor, but Tamson, using Dooku's reinforcements created whirlpools in which they subdued the Gungans, Mon Calamari, and Skywalker's team. Ackbar then helped Skywalker make his way through the whirlpool to disable one of the Trident ship's legs to stop it. Skywalker was successful in this effort, but Skywalker, along with his team, the Gungans and Mon Calamari, were taken as prisoners.[150]
Skywalker, Fisto, Amidala, and Binks were taken to Tamson, where he put Skywalker and Fisto into Eel cages. Tamson started to interrogate them on the whereabouts of Prince Lee-Char, torturing them. When Tamson could not get an answer out of them, Tamson cracked Amidala's helmet to make it slowly leak. Though it convinced Tamson that Skywalker and the others knew nothing of the prince, the Prince was found and Tamson left, leaving Amidala's helmet leaking. Skywalker and Fisto used the Force to create an air bubble around her helmet. When Skywalker was bitten by one of the eels, he thought of Amidala, but luckily Binks used Gungan water sealant to seal her helmet. Skywalker and the others were then taken to the execution of the Prince. Skywalker was reunited with his Padawan shortly later, the two discussed the plan to rescue the Prince, though Tano told him that unfortunately the situation is out of there hands, with Skywalker stating that he was not sure he likes the plan after all. With the Prince about to be killed, the Quarren betrayed Tamson and then gave the Jedi and the captured Mon Calamari back their weapons and joined them in winning the battle. After winning the battle, Skywalker and the others then attended Lee-Char's coronation and installation as the 83rd King of Mon Calamari.[151]
Skirmish on Naboo
When the Naboo heard rumors that the Gungans and their army were going to march on them with the Separatists, Skywalker went with Senator Amidala to help Representative Jar Jar Binks in trying to figure out why Boss Lyonie was rallying his people to rise up against the Naboo. After witnessing a rally, they arranged for a private meeting with Lyonie, and found out he was kept under hypnotic control through a strange necklace. Lyonie said that the necklace had been given to him by a Gungan mystic, Minister Rish Loo, who actually was an agent of Count Dooku. When they confronted Rish Loo, Skywalker sensed that Rish Loo was trying to hypnotize Lyonie again. Skywalker and Amidala went in to arrest him, but Rish Loo revealed Commando Droids and battle erupted. Skywalker quickly dispatched the commando droids, but Rish Loo managed to escape after stabbing Lyonie. Skywalker pursued him till Rish Loo got to a Gungan transport and made a run to the surface.[152]
After taking Lyonie to medical facility in Otoh Gunga, Skywalker and Amidala tried to figure out how to convince the Gungan army not to ally with the Separatists. Skywalker and Amidala then saw an eerie resemblance between Jar-Jar Binks and Lyonie once the former donned the latter's ceremonial apparel. Thus Skywalker took Binks (posing as Lyonie) to the army and got him to convince the army to stand down and to arrest Rish Loo. Rish Loo escaped again, commandeering a speeder bike, and Skywalker gave chase on a kaadu. Skywalker kept on his tail, but his mount was shot down by two recon droids. Anakin destroyed them and then continued on foot, following Rish Loo's trail to an old, abandoned temple from which Count Dooku was overseeing the operation in person.[152]
Skywalker entered the temple, and witnessed Dooku executing his Gungan agent for failure. Skywalker and Dooku then engaged each other in lightsaber combat. Anakin initially took the advantage, forcing Dooku to break off the bout by telekinetically barraging Skywalker with lamp droids. Needing space to handle an all-out aggressive duel, Dooku then revealed his trump card, four MagnaGuards, ordering them to capture Skywalker. The MagnaGuards joined the fray, and gave Dooku the upper hand when he managed to disarm Skywalker. The Magnaguards then pinned Skywalker to the ground, simultaneously electrocuting him, but calling upon his anger, he knocked them away with a Force Repulse. Dooku ultimately subdued him using a combination of Force choke and Sith lightning. He captured the Chosen One,however, once more Dooku's face revealed that it took effort. Anakin was then latched to a rack, and Dooku contacted Amidala, proposing a prisoner exchange. If Amidala gave General Grievous up, Skywalker would be spared and released. Dooku gave her one-hour to respond. Thus Amidala gave Grievous up for Skywalker and the droid army left Naboo.[152]
Battle of Umbara
After the Umbaran sided with the Separatists after the death of Senator Mee Deechi, the Republic launched a massive campaign to retake Umbara. Sending Skywalker, Pong Krell, and two high Jedi Council members, Kenobi and Saesee Tiin to lead the clone troopers to retake the planet. After smashing through the Separatist blockade that guarded the planet, Skywalker and his 501st Legion troopers prepared to land on the shadowy world after just attending a mission briefing. Shortly thereafter, Skywalker and his troops entered the planet's atmosphere and engaged the local Umbaran militia forces.
After defeating the Umbara resistance for a short while Skywalker and Rex waited for the rest of their men, hoping to move out soon and reinforce General Kenobi's battalion and push for the Umbaran capital. Dogma headed over and reported that all platoons have reported in. Skywalker told him to get some rest, but Dogma replied that he was fine. Rex stepped into the conversation and told Dogma that General Skywalker gave him a direct order. Dogma did as he was asked. Rex told Skywalker that Dogma was wound tight but loyal and Skywalker made a joke that he reminded him of Rex. Rex, not thinking so, replied that was him in the old days. Shortly after this, the Umbarans executed an ambush on Skywalker and his troops. Fortunately an airstrike by Master Pong Krell and Oddball saved them in the nick of time. After the quick save, Krell approached Skywalker with a disconcerting message: Skywalker was to return to Coruscant and meet Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, for reasons unknown. Reluctant to leave his troops in the midst of battle, Skywalker nevertheless was forced to relinquish command over his troops to Master Krell and make the journey back to Coruscant.[153]
Battle of Kiros
Ten rotations after Yoda's last contact with the Togruta colonists on Kiros, Skywalker, his Padawan, Captain Rex, and Kenobi went to this world to liberate it from the Separatists. After their landing, Skywalker, with Tano as his gunner, took a squad of BARC speeders to break through the city. After Skywalker and the squad took out the commando droids on Flitknot speeders and the AATs, Skywalker's and Kenobi's forces surrounded the Governor's tower, where the Separatist Headquarters were. Commander Cody said that the enemy commander, Darts D'Nar, wished to discuss terms of surrender. Skywalker took D'nar's message out of Cody's hand and called D'nar "Zygerrian slaver scum." Though Skywalker wanted to negotiate with D'nar, Kenobi told him to wait while he negotiated. Skywalker then contacted Admiral Yularen to conduct a bio scan to find the missing colonists.
Skywalker overheard Kenobi's negotiations on his comlink. Skywalker and Tano were surprised when D'Nar refused to surrender. When D'Nar said that he had planted bombs in the city, Skywalker and Tano did not believe it at first until D'Nar blew up one of the buildings. Skywalker and Tano then rode on a couple of AT-RTs to defuse the bombs while Kenobi continued his "negotiations." Skywalker and Tano defused the bombs quickly. When Skywalker and Tano got to the last bombs, they came under fire from sniper droidekas, but destroyed the snipers and defused the last bombs. After that, Skywalker and Tano took their AT-RTs back to the tower. When Kenobi informed them that D'Nar was escaping, they took their AT-RTs and jumped onto D'Nar's ship, the Tecora.
Skywalker and Tano disabled D'Nar's ship. The ship's doors opened and they boarded. D'Nar unleashed one of his "pets," the Blixus, upon them. Skywalker and Tano fought, but Skywalker told Tano to stabilize the ship. Just as the Blixus was about to eat him, Skywalker killed it and escaped its grasp as it fell off the ship. Skywalker then went to the control where his apprentice had just captured D'Nar. Skywalker questioned D'Nar, threatening to kill D'Nar with a lightsaber up his throat. D'Nar told Skywalker that his queen would have an auction to make Zygerria powerful once again. When Skywalker, Kenobi, Yularen, and Tano told the Jedi Council of this, Skywalker told them that they must not let this happen.[154]
Infiltrating Zygerria
Skywalker, along with Kenobi, Tano, and Rex, took D'Nar's ship, the Tecora, to Zygerria. There Skywalker, posing as a brigand named Lars Quell, with Tano posing as his slave, would distract the Zygerrian queen while Kenobi and Rex looked for the missing colonists. Skywalker and his fellow Jedi gave R2-D2 their lightsabers and went their separate ways. As Skywalker and Tano made their way through the streets, they ran into the Zygerrian Prime Minister, Atai Molec. At first, Molec refused to allow "Quell" to see the queen until Skywalker said that he had news concerning Bruno Denturri.
Skywalker and Tano were taken to Queen Miraj Scintel's Palace. Skywalker told the queen how he killed Denturi and took one of Denturi's "slaves" as compensation. The queen was impressed by "Quell's" skills as a warrior. When the queen asked how much Quell's slave was, Skywalker openly flirted with the queen. Skywalker and his apprentice were then taken to the Queen's private chambers. There, as Skywalker and the queen were about to drink, one of the queen's slaves tried to kill her. Skywalker stopped the slave, but the slave took her own life. When the queen offered to buy his slave, Skywalker presented his slave as a gift to the queen, earning the queen's praises.
Skywalker and Tano were invited to attend the Royal Slave Auction. When Governor Roshti was presented, Skywalker asked where she got nearly 50,000 slaves. Just then Molec told the queen of his capture of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Kenobi was brought forward to show her customers how her people could even enslave the Jedi, Skywalker was ordered to whip Kenobi. As Skywalker moved to do so, he signaled Artoo and Rex. Skywalker, Kenobi and Tano then got their lightsabers and tried to fight their way out, to no avail. The queen and her guards subdued Skywalker and his friends. The queen admired Skywalker's strength, so she decided to make Skywalker her bodyguard.
When Skywalker came about in the queen's chamber, Skywalker tried to Force-choke the queen into telling him where his friends were. However, the queen told him that if he continued to misbehave, his friends would die. Thus Skywalker submitted himself to being the queen's bodyguard.[155] Skywalker escorted the queen around her palace until Dooku arrived, unbeknownst to the queen. Skywalker was then ordered to stay put, without his lightsaber. Two guards watched until Artoo arrived and then he vanished. After Skywalker lost the guards, he went to rescue his apprentice, who was in a cage. Skywalker told Tano to get the ship ready, while he would get the location of Kenobi and Rex from the queen. As Skywalker entered the queen's quarters, Dooku had just Force-choked the queen. Skywalker fought Dooku with a whip. Then the guards, believing that Skywalker had murdered their queen, tried to kill him. Skywalker escaped with the dying queen to the Tecora. On board the ship, the queen told Skywalker that he was right and where Kenobi and Rex were.[156]
Battle of Kadavo
Skywalker and Tano took the Tecora to Kadavo, to the Zygerrian Labor Processing Hub, where Kenobi and Rex were held. After their ship landed, Skywalker and Tano made their way to the front door. Just as they were cutting through the door, Kenobi warned him that Keeper Agruss would kill the slaves if he did not stop and that he was outnumbered. Skywalker contacted Master Plo Koon, the Wolfpack and Admiral Coburn for help. While Master Koon kept the Zygerrian defenses busy, Skywalker and Tano made their way through the facility. Skywalker helped Master Koon destroy the defense turrets while his apprentice helped the colonists get to the rescue ship. Skywalker, Kenobi and Rex then joined each other and evacuated the facility as Master Koon's fighters destroyed the facility.[156]
Plot to kidnap the Chancellor
After a meeting of the Jedi Council, Kenobi was "shot" by Rako Hardeen—a bounty hunter and marksman from the planet Concord Dawn—while walking through the streets of Coruscant at night with Skywalker and Tano. Hardeen was hired by an anonymous client to "kill" Kenobi with a sniper rifle.
After shooting the Jedi in the chest and completing the job, Hardeen was pursued by Skywalker, but escaped on a speeder bike and with the aid of smoke grenades. Tano and Skywalker attend Kenobi's funeral, believing him dead, and Skywalker swears to bring the perpetrator to justice.
After celebrating his high-profile kill at Trueping's cantina, his employer called him to a back room for payment. To his surprise, a very much alive Master Kenobi—having assumed Hardeen's appearance—and Master Windu arrest and incapacitate Hardeen for secret transport.
Meanwhile, during their investigation of the presumed killer, Skywalker and Ahsoka find a presumably drunk "Rako Hardeen" at Trueping's, not knowing that it was really Kenobi in disguise. Skywalker and Tano arrest him and have him transported to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center, where the Jedi Council had been planning to insert Kenobi undercover in order to uncover a plot involving Moralo Eval to kidnap Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.[157]
During his investigation, Kenobi discovered the involvement of Cad Bane in the plot and continued to assume his disguise to learn more. With difficulty in convincing Bane of his credibility, and to follow the enemy plot to its source, Kenobi assisted Bane and Eval in their escape from the detention center.
When Skywalker expressed his desire to track down the killer and return him to custody, Windu denied the request to pursue the fugitives. Not happy with the decision, Skywalker visited the Chancellor, who told him that the fugitives were on Nal Hutta. There, Skywalker and Tano harshly interrogated locals for information, which led them to Orondia, the fugitives last known location.[158]
Skywalker and Tano had a brief skirmish with Cad Bane as well as the disguised Hardeen, but as the criminals fled the scene after incapacitating Skywalker, he informed Tano that Kenobi was indeed alive as Hardeen, acting as an undercover agent. Yoda later confirmed this when he summoned Skywalker to his quarters.
Sometime after that the Jedi Council planned the security for the Chancellor on Naboo. When Skywalker, Tano and Windu arrived in Theed with the Chancellor and Mas Amedda, Skywalker was greeted by his secret wife, Senator Amidala. At the festival itself, the attempt to abduct the Chancellor struck with Cad Bane and Moralo Eval ferrying Palpatine away while Skywalker and Windu captured Embo and Twazzi.
Windu and Skywalker saved Palpatine with the aid of Kenobi, apprehending Eval and Bane. While walking down a corridor with Palpatine, the two were greeted by Count Dooku, who wished to finish what he started. The duel commenced, with his guards defeated leaving him the chance to engage Dooku. Proving more deadly than their previous duel on Naboo, Skywalker again pressured Dooku to use the Force to create distance between the two. Skywalker's intention was to kill the Count and neary succeeded when he was inches away from piercing Dooku's skull with the tip of his blade. Placing himself on retreat, Tyranus allowed Skywalker to attack, staggering Dooku's balance and calm. Palpatine watched with smiling interest as Skywalker kicked Dooku to the stairs and dropped several heavy strikes in an avalanche style. Pushing Dooku's lightsaber down, the Chosen One fell to his darker temptations and choked Dooku with his right hand. Only through Force push and lightning, did Dooku avoid death. With Kenobi's assistance, Palpatine was saved once again and Dooku forced to flee.
Onderon Rebels
On Onderon, which was Separatist-controlled, a group of rebels had arisen to take back the planet. Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tano went with Rex and some 501st men to aid the rebels and give them guidance. They taught the rebels sharpshooting, how to disable a droideka, and more tricks. A group of droids and AATs arrived to squash the rebels but were defeated, serving as the first test for the group. After this, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Rex with the 501st left for the war, but Tano stayed behind to lead the rebels, getting some guidance herself from Skywalker and Kenobi. Tano and the rebels, led by Saw and Steela Gerra, eventually achieved victory with rocket launchers sent by Hondo Ohnaka and ordered by Skywalker. Tano returned to Coruscant following the funeral of Steela, who had perished during the battle.
The Twilight
- "I was wondering if I might borrow that old freighter of yours."
"The Twilight? Sure. Though you should know—"
"Is she spaceworthy these days?"
"The engines need tuning, and she's pitching more than I'd like, and there's a list of other little problems. If you give me and R2 an hour—"
"As long as she'll fly—and land. I'm not planning on making the Kessel Run, or trying my hand at the five Fire Rings of Fornax."
"She's all yours, then." - ―Obi-Wan Kenobi requests the Twilight from Skywalker
When Obi-Wan Kenobi decided to travel to Mandalore on a secret mission, he came to Skywalker requesting the Twilight. Skywalker gave the ship to him, even though the battered freighter had a lot of problems. Kenobi said that as long as it was flyable, he would take it. However, after a minor blaze occurred on the ship after landing on Mandalore, Kenobi vowed not to borrow another ship from Skywalker.
Caridia Incident
Around 20 BBY, Anakin Skywalker allowed the newly formed droid squadron, D-Squad, to conduct missions for the Galactic Republic under direct Jedi supervision, loaning R2-D2 over to the unit.[160] Eventually, Skywalker attended the Republic strategy conference on the Valor at the Carida system. As a result, he and several other Republic military staff were nearly killed when the Venator-class Star Destroyer Renown, having been laced with Rhydonium canisters and on a collision course with the station, hyperspaced out of the system. After learning that R2 did not make it out of the ship before blowing it up, Anakin had several soldiers search for any sign of R2 among the wreckage.[161]
Clearing Tano's name
During the defense of Cato Neimoidia, Anakin Skywalker ended up being forced to withdraw from the battle after his Eta-2 Actic-class interceptor fell victim to a Buzz Droid attack, as well as due to news of a bombing at the Jedi Temple's hangar requiring his instant return to Coruscant. Tano and Skywalker then proceeded to investigate the reasons behind the bombing, with Skywalker remarking that "one can become the other" relating to it most likely being a staffer of the temple. They eventually deduce that Jackar Bowmani is responsible for the bombing, although they find out he was an unknowing accomplice, having been fed nanobots by his wife, Letta Turmond. They then proceeded to arrest her and bring her over to the Jedi Temple.[162] Turmond was later relocated to a Republic-owned military outpost. However, this ultimately turned for the worse, as Tano herself ended up framed with Turmond's death when she apparently killed Turmond while questioning her on her motives behind the attack. Skywalker did not bail her out of prison, as, although he personally believed her innocence, he realized that bailing her out of prison would result in her being viewed as being even more guilty than before. He eventually told this to Tano when she broke out of the prison, just prior to her escaping from a water pipe.[163] Skywalker later participated in the manhunt for Tano.[164]
As Skywalker searched, he briefly saw his Padawan with Ventress, giving him great concern. Later Tano was found with the nano droids that were used in the bombing of the Temple and she was arrested. Skywalker tried to find her innocence so he tracked down Ventress who said that Barriss was the only person besides her to know where Ahsoka was heading. Skywalker visited Offee and questioned her, to test her he attacked her with her own lightsaber, upon which she reacted with the use of Ventress' lightsabers. The two fought as Barriss attempted to flee the Jedi Knight. Anakin continued to fight her until he defeated her with the witness of the Temple Guards to her guilt.
Offee was captured and forced to tell the court that Tano was innocent. Tano was given a place back into the Jedi Order as a Jedi Knight but refused as she could not trust the Council. Skywalker and Tano said their goodbyes and he said that there were times that he wanted to leave the Jedi Order and Tano stated "I know" and she walked away from the Temple.
Ringo Vinda campaign
Skywalker then led the 501st at Ringo Vinda alongside fellow Jedi Generals Tiplar and Tiplee against Admiral Trench's forces. The battle was in their favor until one of Skywalker's troopers, "Tup", murdered Gen. Tiplar in trance-like state. Tup was to be sent back to Kamino but was captured. Skywalker, Rex, and Fives went to rescue him.[165] After the rescue, he was taken to Kamino. Skywalker and Rex left for the war, but Fives stayed.[166]
Tup died during treatment,[166] but Fives found a biochip in every clone trooper[167] and was thus taken to see Chancellor Palpatine. After being accused of attempting to murder Palpatine, Fives was on the run and, through Jesse, asked to talk with Rex and Skywalker secretly. When the two arrived, Fives activated a ray shield out of fear. As he attempted to inform them about a plot involving the Chancellor and the Jedi, Commander Fox and the Coruscant Guard arrived and Fives was shot.[168]
Corruption in the Clan
Later, Skywalker traveled to Scipio to bail Padmé Amidala out of jail. She said that Rush Clovis was helping her expose corruption in the Banking Clan. Although he still did not like Clovis, he took her to his private residence anyway. As the bounty hunter Embo shot at them, he protected them with his lightsaber. As they attempted to take off, Embo shot their speeder down, and a sled chase through the snow and ice ensued. They lost the bounty hunter eventually and escaped to Coruscant.[169]
Padmé was assigned to help Clovis uncover the corruption, and since that meant working closely together, Skywalker decided to go after them. He found Clovis about to kiss Amidala and beat him up. Amidala's Security arrived, and Clovis covered for Skywalker. Amidala then said that they should not see each other for a while.[170]
Later, Clovis exposed the corruption and became the Clan's new head.[170] When Clovis appeared to have joined the Separatists, and Amidala's clone garrison had been destroyed, Skywalker led the attack fleet to retake Scipio. He went down to Clovis' office, where Amidala was at gunpoint. A crashed Vulture droid made the tower with the office unstable, Skywalker kept his footing but the other two fell. Skywalker grabbed one of each of their hands, and since Padmé was slipping, Clovis let go and fell to his death. Afterward, control of the banks was given to Palpatine.[171]
Shadows of Sifo-Dyas
Soon after, Plo Koon found traces of the dead Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and his shuttle. Skywalker and Kenobi traced the information to the Pyke homeworld. They found a former Chancellor's aide in the dungeon, and when they questioned them about the Jedi, he said that someone wanted to be Sifo-Dyas. When they asked him for a name, he was Force-choked to death. They turned to find Count Dooku and engaged in a vicious duel with him. This time the Count conducted a tactic of forcing Kenobi on the offensive, while focusing his thrusts at Skywalker so that he needed to defend himself, thus making the Jedi fight in their opposite styles. As the Pykes attacked Dooku, their leader addressed him as "Tyranus." Dooku escaped, but Kenobi reported to the Council that Dooku was Tyranus,[172] who Jango Fett said to have hired him for the creation of the Clone Army.[12]
Hunting Ventress
Skywalker helped Kenobi during his hunt for Asajj Ventress, on what Skywalker considered to be a wild bantha chase since he believed himself to have killed Ventress. However, after following several clues that pointed to her survival, Skywalker became less and less sure of this conviction. After defeating and finally destroying Durge in the Karthakk system,[173] the two were then found by the Intervention that was on a survey mission. Anakin found out his old friend Alpha-17 had been reassigned to a new position, and was later pleasantly surprised when he saw that Alpha had started giving nicknames to his own clone troopers comrades, showing Anakin's idea did have an impact on him. Skywalker, Kenobi, Alpha, Senator Bail Organa, and the other Jedi then went to Boz Pity. Skywalker then piloted the ship to make sure it would exit between Separatist blockade and the planet. Unfortunately, the Intervention was brought too close to the planet's gravitational pull. After the Intervention's crash landing, Skywalker joined the ground troops in the battle, at one point General Grievous came out of the separatist facility and started killing Clones and Jedis, at one point Grievous struck Alpha on his midsection in his torso, Anakin quickly made his way to help him along with Kit Fisto although they couldn't say if the damage to his spine was too severe the clone still asked to get patched up and for a gun, since he could still fight. Meanwhile, all this was happening Kenobi found Ventress in a bacta tank. Ventress attacked Kenobi and later Anakin as well when she came out of her trance but once the battle turned sour for the CIS she tried to retreat along with Dooku and Grievous, but since she was too far away Dooku ordered his Magna Guards to shoot her instead, Ventress was seemingly killed by a blaster bolt to the chest, with Obi-Wan and Anaking getting close to see what happened, Ventress suddenly woke up and tried to kill Obi-Wan with a shard of metal, she was however struck down by Skywalker before she could actually get to Kenobi. After being abandoned by Dooku. Finally, Ventress let go of her anger and rage and put herself in a trance that made her appear dead. She was taken aboard a medical ship (along with Alpha 17), awoke shortly after, and ordered the pilot to take her far away from the war, Dooku, and the Jedi. Kenobi and Skywalker were left believing that she was truly dead.[174] The two later participated in Mission to Ruhe in an effort to lay siege to Dooku's citadel. That mission, however, was a trap. Their LAAT/i gunship was shot down and hundreds of battle droids remained to wait for them. It was only thanks to the clone troopers who repaired the gunship that Skywalker and Kenobi escaped alive.[175]
Cato Neimoidia
During the Outer Rim Sieges, Anakin and Obi-Wan were deployed on Cato Neimoidia to capture Viceroy Gunray from his redoubt. It was the closest Obi-Wan and him had been to Coruscant in almost four standard months. He saved Obi-Wan's life by cutting a battle droid that almost killed Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan would later say that this was not one of the times Anakin had saved his life.
"Ghost Hand"
During the Outer Rim Sieges, Kenobi and Skywalker were only occasionally removed from one another, being dispatched as a team to various battlefronts, commanding the Open Circle Fleet. Shortly before the Battle of Coruscant, Kenobi and Anakin were sent to the icy planet of Nelvaan to seek out Grievous. The Nelvaanians hailed Skywalker as "Ghost Hand," and the shaman of Rokrul village sent him on a quest to save their people from a threat that had vanquished all their champions. Skywalker agreed, and entered a cave where he experienced visions of a great hunter, who lost his arm in battle. However, he fought back, and continued to slay monsters with a new black, spiky arm. As he slew the monsters, his power grew until it was out of control, the spiky black arm turning into a spiky black labyrinth that encompassed and destroyed everything the warrior held dear.[176]
Amidala's voice was screaming as the sinister black labyrinth of evil that had once been the great warrior's arm turned back upon the source and morphed what remained of the great hunter into an eerie face—the face of Darth Vader, whom Skywalker would soon become.[176]
When Skywalker recovered from this vision, he happened upon a Techno Union laboratory where scientists were experimenting on the Nelvaanian warriors, developing them into brutish drones with cybernetic blaster cannons in their arms. With the help of a Nelvaanian who was not yet completely transformed, he convinced the drones to assist him in destroying the factory, an act that cost him his robotic arm. Many of the scientists tried to escape, but Skywalker caught up with and killed them in rage. In a display of support, the Nelvaanian men tore off their artificial arms as well.[177]
Final days of war
Rescuing the Chancellor
- "Soon I will have a new apprentice… one far younger and more powerful."
- ―Darth Sidious
Shortly before the war's end, the Battle of Cato Neimoidia handed Skywalker and Kenobi a valuable clue to the identity of the mysterious Darth Sidious: Nute Gunray's mechno-chair. This device carried a unique holotransceiver that bore intelligence capable of leading the Republic forces to their ultimate quarry, the ever-elusive Sidious. Mace Windu took up the lead on Coruscant, while Skywalker and Kenobi tracked the lead in the Outer Rim Territories. Adventures for both teams waited as the trail in the Outer Rim led back to the Works on Coruscant, just in time for an attack on Coruscant by the Confederacy, causing Skywalker and Kenobi to rush back to Coruscant after their visit to Tythe. Back on Coruscant, just as the identity of Darth Sidious loomed ever closer, the battle overhead delayed and dissolved the investigation. Windu joined the battle, clashing with General Grievous. Grievous escaped, although he was injured, his gut sack crushed by Windu, and captured Chancellor Palpatine, taking him to his flagship, the Invisible Hand.[178]
Before the Separatist armada was able to flee Coruscant, however, Skywalker and Kenobi finally returned from the Outer Rim in an attempt to rescue the "captive" Chancellor. Moving into the thick of the battle, they stormed the Confederacy's flagship in their Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors. The two Jedi fought their way through the ship until they reached the General's Quarters atop the command tower, where Palpatine was being held hostage. As the two Jedi attempted to free him, Count Dooku entered the room escorted by two super battle droids to confront the two Jedi.[11]
Mentioning their failure to stop Dooku on Geonosis three years ago, Kenobi told Skywalker that they're to fight him together, with Skywalker mentioning he was about to suggest the same. The two Jedi fought Dooku together in a coordinated duel, until the Sith Lord used the Force to choke Kenobi. He then simultaneously back-kicked Skywalker and used the Force to throw Kenobi across the room, rendering the Jedi Master unconscious and pinning him with a piece of a walkway dislodged by the Force. Skywalker fought on, eventually losing control of his emotions as Dooku taunted him. He began to unleash all his fear, anger and hatred, beating away at Dooku's Makashi with his own Djem So mastery.[11] But in his mind, he had decided to much more than defeat Dooku; he would take from him what the latter took from the former on Geonosis.[179] Instead of trying to counter the elderly ex-Jedi's superior expertise in lightsaber dueling, Skywalker emphasized on his two great assets to counter the Count: his immense hatred and prime youth. The duel-worn Sith Lord needed to move freely and keep the offensive to not fall to his frailer stamina and physical prowess. Nevertheless, the Chosen One's onslaught came at blinding speed, not allowing the Makashi master a moment's rest to reposition himself, continuously battering the old man's red blade, quickly exploiting Form II's lack of absorbing and directing kinetic energy. Now all Dooku could do was take every hit and try to avoid impalement or decapitation.[179] The short duel ended abruptly when Skywalker bypassed Dooku's defenses, grabbed him and severed both his hands, defeating the Sith Lord: the perfect revenge. Catching Dooku's lightsaber, he held both blades in a scissor arc toward the Sith Lord's neck.[11]
Pleased with the outcome, Palpatine ordered Skywalker to kill Dooku. After hesitating to obey the Chancellor's orders, Skywalker gave in to his anger and desire for revenge and executed Dooku, bringing an end to the Separatist firebrand.[11] Skywalker did not know at the time that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, nor did he know that the Dark Lord had chosen him to be his apprentice, and was merely using Dooku as a placeholder until he could be turned.[179] Nonetheless, Skywalker immediately regretted his un-Jedi-like action, citing that the murder of a defenseless foe was not the Jedi way. Palpatine, however, eased Skywalker's conscience by claiming that such an action of violence was "only natural" in such a situation—Skywalker vowed revenge on Dooku for taking his arm three years ago—and that, as Skywalker himself had confided to him, the young Jedi already was familiar with murder from his encounter with the Sand People that killed his mother, Shmi.[11]
Skywalker then freed Palpatine from his bonds and escaped the Quarters, carrying an unconscious Kenobi on his back, ignoring the Chancellor's orders to leave the Jedi Master behind in order to avoid carrying the extra weight. Their escape was short lived, however, as they were soon captured and brought before General Grievous on the bridge of the vessel, where Skywalker and the General met face to face at last, after having clashed indirectly many times during the war. Grievous commented that he found Skywalker to be too young for a man of his reputation, to which the Jedi smugly responded that the General was "shorter than [Skywalker] expected." Then, at Skywalker's command, R2-D2 created a distraction, giving the two Jedi enough time to regain their lightsabers, cut off their binders and attack the general's bodyguards and droids. Grievous eventually escaped the Jedi and deployed all the escape pods as his flagship began to plummet to the galactic capital below, drawn by the planet's gravity. Skywalker managed to pilot what was left of the ship to a crash landing on a platform in an abandoned industrial area on Coruscant.[11]
Fall to the dark side
- "Skywalker was one of the Jedi Order's most skilled generals."
"What happened to him?"
"I killed him." - ―Darth Vader, and Laurita Tohm
Upon his return to Coruscant, Skywalker was reunited with his wife. After a brief greeting and mentioning of Anakin's potential death, Padmé informed him of her pregnancy, which he was overjoyed to hear. They decided to keep it a secret from the Jedi Council as well as the Senate for both of their sakes. Later, he was troubled by visions of Amidala dying in childbirth.[11] To save his wife, Skywalker desired to look upon and research holocrons of learned Masters, holocrons that were restricted by all but the Jedi Masters.[179] When Palpatine made Skywalker his representative on the Council, he naturally assumed that made him a Master,[11] thus giving him access to the restricted holocrons.[179] However, the other Jedi on the Council reluctantly accepted Skywalker's placement, and they denied him the rank of Jedi Master, infuriating and frustrating him. After the session with the other masters, a tense Skywalker expressed his incensed opinion to Kenobi on the matter,[11] working around the fact he needed to be a Master to save Amidala.[179]
Further severing his trust in them, the Council urged Skywalker to keep tabs on Palpatine, although Kenobi was against this decision. Realizing that this was the only reason the Council accepted Palpatine's placement, Skywalker began to slowly lose his respect for the members of the governing body, a mistrust and plaguing uncertainty that he revealed to his wife. Skywalker sought Yoda's counsel about his intense, prophetic visions that someone close to him would die, though he did not reveal the identity of the person in question. Yoda repeated the Jedi teachings telling him to "train yourself to let go… of everything you fear to lose." Skywalker was unsatisfied with this response.[11]
In another meeting with the Council, Skywalker informed the masters that Palpatine received a lead that Grievous was in the Utapau system. After being declined by the rest of the Council to go to Utapau to confront Grievous, Skywalker sat back and listened as Kenobi was chosen to go on this adventure. Just prior to Kenobi's departure for Utapau to capture or kill General Grievous, Skywalker attempted to come along, feeling Kenobi needed him. Agreeing that he would need Skywalker's help, Kenobi declined Skywalker's request, as he did not want to take the risk that the lead was a "wild Bantha chase." Skywalker also promptly apologized for his earlier behavior to Kenobi, as he was grateful for him being his mentor, but just had frustrations. Unbeknownst to either of them at that time, this was the last time Skywalker and Kenobi would converse as friends… or as fellow Jedi. Anakin also began suspecting due to visions showing Kenobi near Amidala at the time of her apparent death that Amidala may have been having an extramarital affair with Kenobi. Either that, or Anakin thought that Kenobi was beginning to realize about the secret marriage between him and Amidala, as well as their soon-to-be child.[11]
As he continued to meet with Palpatine, the Chancellor slowly began to immerse the dark side in Skywalker. Using his fear of Amidala's death, he told Skywalker the story of a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis, who was powerful enough to stop others from dying. Knowing this would interest Skywalker with the current situation that he was in, Palpatine continued to inform Skywalker of the secret dark power that Jedi were not capable of teaching him. As Anakin was letting off steam that he had revolving around the Council and their decisions, he met with Palpatine and began to share with him his frustrations. Feeling like this was the correct time, Palpatine revealed his true self, and offered Skywalker the chance to learn the ways of the dark side from him and use the power he had to save Amidala. However, Skywalker rejected Palpatine's offer and remained faithful to the Jedi. Having his lightsaber drawn, Skywalker, out of instinct, contemplated killing Palpatine on the spot as soon as he learned his true identity, but decided against it after Palpatine implied that killing him would result in Skywalker turning to the dark side and ruin his chances of saving Amidala. Skywalker instead fled to Mace Windu and promptly reported to him Palpatine's identity, though he regretted his choice as Palpatine's words tortured his mind. Windu, after instructing Skywalker to remain at the Jedi Temple, went, with three other Jedi—Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto—to arrest the Chancellor. Sidious fought with the Jedi, slaying three of them almost immediately and leaving only Windu. He and Sidious continued to fight until the Jedi Master gained the advantage. Back at the Jedi Temple, meanwhile, Skywalker brooded over an overwhelming thought: with Sidious' death, he would lose the chance to save his wife from the fate in his dreams. This torturing time was what made Anakin decide to leave the Council chambers and go to the scene of the arrest.[11]
A fateful choice
- "Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is… consumed by Darth Vader."
- ―Yoda to Obi-Wan Kenobi
Tormented by thoughts of Amidala dying without the benefit of Sidious' knowledge, Skywalker rushed out of the Temple, grabbing an airspeeder and hurrying to the Chancellor's office. Uncertain of what was going to happen, Skywalker made his way to the sanctuary of Palpatine, where he was supposed to be arrested. Coincidentally, Skywalker arrived just in time to see Windu standing over the disarmed Sidious, with his lightsaber held at the Chancellor's throat.[11]
Sidious, upon seeing Skywalker, claimed that the Jedi were indeed trying to take over the Republic, and proceeded to attack Windu with Force lightning while seducing Skywalker to the dark side, trying to sway him to save his life. Barely managing to deflect Sidious' lightning, Windu shouted at Skywalker not to listen. As Sidious' own lightning deflected back onto his face, the Sith Lord went through a physical transformation as he struggled to intensify his dark side powers with his own life force. His face became deformed and his eyes turned yellow.[11] The true Sith that was in Sidious was now becoming more and more evident in Palpatine.[179] Eventually, the lightning subsided to leave Palpatine[179][11] pretending[180] to be exhausted and frail, lying on the floor. The Chancellor began begging for mercy, and claimed he was too weak to continue fighting.[179][11]
Windu announced that it was time to kill the Dark Lord and end the Sith once and for all. However, Skywalker confronted him, stating that Palpatine must stand trial, and that to execute him was not the way of the Jedi. Windu stated that despite normal procedures, Palpatine was far too dangerous to be left alive. With Sidious pleading one last time, Windu ignored Skywalker and raised his lightsaber, preparing to kill Sidious, but in haste and rashness, the panicked Skywalker drew his lightsaber and subsequently betrayed Windu by severing the unsuspecting Windu's right hand, leaving him defenseless and in agony. Seeing this, Sidious immediately ceased feigning weakness and unleashed a withering barrage of Force lightning at the helpless Jedi Master, also gloating about his unlimited power. After torturing him for a few moments, Sidious used the Force to push Windu's electrified body out of the broken window, whereupon he met his death on impact with the streets below.[11]
Upon realizing the full significance of what he had just done, Skywalker was struck with guilt and remorse and questioned his actions, but was too emotionally drained and dazed to resist Sidious, who stated that he was fulfilling his destiny. Knowing that Skywalker was emotionally unstable, Sidious further encouraged Skywalker to embrace the dark side and become his apprentice, allowing Sidious to teach him all that he knew.[11] Anakin then realized Sidious had been manipulating him—and the galaxy—all along.[181] However, though his loyalty to the Jedi lingered somewhat, he believed that his unwitting participation in Windu's murder precluded any chance of his returning to them. Furthermore, he believed that joining the Dark Lord was still his best chance to save Amidala.[179] Overcome by emotion and distress, Skywalker agreed to do anything Sidious desired; all he wanted was to save Amidala's life. While saying that to cheat death was a power that only one had achieved, Sidious promised Skywalker that, together, they could find the secret, tacitly admitting that he did not have the ability to hold back death,[11] but Skywalker was too blind to see it.[179] Anakin Skywalker then bowed on one knee and pledged himself to the Sith Order, thereby betraying the Jedi. Sidious then endowed him with his new Sith name: Darth Vader.[11] While he hoped that he and Sidious could discover the secret of immortality together, Vader no longer saw his new master as a friend worth defending. Now, the man was merely a necessary evil worth tolerating until the time was right to take his place.[179]
Knightfall
- "Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy."
- ―Sidious to Vader
Palpatine assured Vader that every Jedi was an enemy of the republic, including Kenobi, and it would be endless civil war unless the Jedi were destroyed. Vader was ordered by the Sith Master that if he wanted to gain enough power in the dark side to save Amidala, he was to lead the 501st Legion into the Jedi Temple and kill every Jedi inside to catch them off balance and begin the purge that was to come and to wipe out the Separatist leaders on Mustafar. Vader did this without question, leading the 501st Legion (Whom were likely under the influence of Sidious's secret protocol, Order 66), and slaughtering venerable Jedi and younglings alike.[11] His personal motives, however, were because he felt the Jedi Order would never understand his reasons for his involvement in Mace Windu's death, feeling he had gone too far and would never be accepted back.[179]
Vader even killed some Jedi Masters such as Cin Drallig.[179] During the assault, Vader entered the Council Chamber and found a group of younglings trying to hide. Thinking Vader was still a Jedi Knight, a young boy asked him what they should do, but the newly christened Sith Lord re-ignited his lightsaber and slaughtered the boy and the other younglings. The fierce fighting sparked a fire which soon engulfed the entire Jedi Temple, easily visible from the Senate building. While Vader was at the temple, Sidious commanded the other Clone Troopers across the galaxy to execute Order 66, which forcibly brainwashed the Clones into turning on the Jedi. This would be the start of the Great Jedi Purge. This worried Amidala and struck her with fear, not knowing whether Anakin was okay.[11]
Battle between brothers
- "You turned her against me!"
"You have done that yourself!"
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!"
"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that! You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now… until now, you have become the very thing you swore to destroy!" - ―Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Soon after the completion of his first mission of wiping out the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, Vader returned to Amidala to console and inform her of the current situation with the Republic and the Jedi. Leaving her distraught and confused, Vader continued his mission by flying to Mustafar, where he was to kill the Separatist Council.[11]
Vader traveled to Mustafar and used Sidious' codes to pass through the Separatists' security. Vader left R2-D2 with his fighter so that his actions were neither witnessed nor recorded. He entered the room in which the Separatist leaders were and closed all of the doors, preventing any council member from escaping. At first, several of the leaders warmly welcomed him, before they recognized his overly publicized face. In their surprise, the newly christened Sith Lord then began his massacre of the Separatist Council. As he surveyed the carnage, his blue eyes transformed into a red-rimmed yellow, a trait common among those immersed in the dark side.[11]
After murdering all the members, along with their aides and guards in cold blood, he turned to the last one left—Nute Gunray, Sidious' former ally who had invaded and occupied Naboo before being defeated by Skywalker thirteen years before, and who had tried to murder his wife on several occasions during the Clone Wars. Before he died, Gunray pleaded with Vader, claiming that Lord Sidious had promised they would be left in peace. Despite Gunray's pleas, Vader proceeded to kill him. His mission accomplished, the Sith Lord silently exited the room, awaiting further instruction.[11]
Outside, overlooking the turbulent volcanic terrain, Vader (with his normal eye colour) contemplated his transformation and convinced himself that all he had done was for the benefit of the Republic, although he was still guilt-ridden for his actions, shedding a single tear of remorse. Meanwhile, he remembered his Master's order to communicate with him as soon as the enemy was defeated.[11] During this transmission, he thought of how soon he planned for their positions to be changed, and how soon he would kill the Dark Lord—just as soon as he discovered a way to preserve Amidala's life.[179] Darth Sidious ordered Vader to send a message to the Trade Federation ships that the entire Separatist droid army be shut down immediately before cutting off communication. Seeing his wife's ship arrive, he left the bunker to meet her.[11]
Upon reuniting with Amidala, Vader discovered that Kenobi had revealed Vader's dark deeds in the Jedi Temple to her. Though he did not deny the accusation, Vader maintained that Kenobi was only attempting to turn her against him. Amidala tried to reason with him, convince him to retire from public service with her to raise their child, but Vader countered with his plan to overthrow Palpatine and set the both of them up in his place. Shocked and horrified, Amidala refused, stating that he had changed and was going down a path she could not follow. She pleaded with him to come back, promising she still loved him. However, unknown to Amidala, Kenobi had stowed away on her ship to find Vader, and at that moment he appeared on the ship's ramp.[11]
Upon seeing his former master, Vader incorrectly assumed Amidala had betrayed him and brought Kenobi to kill him. Consumed by his anger and rage, he lashed out with the Force, choking his wife into unconsciousness, ignoring her tearful pleas of innocence. Kenobi also tried to reason with his former pupil, but Vader refused to listen, too consumed by hate. After Kenobi resolved he had no choice but to fight, Vader told him he would try, and leaped to attack his former Master and oldest friend.[11]
Vader and Kenobi fought an intense duel throughout the mining complex and down the river of lava outside.[11] Vader's neverending Djem So offensive was like a run-away train, never ceasing and only building in momentum. Fortunately, the impenetrable defensive of Kenobi's Soresu mastery proved great at repelling the fallen student's aggression. Their duel was truly an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. As the duel continued, Vader's power and the environment became heated and lethal. Not testing the limits of his age against Vader like the dead Dooku, Kenobi looked for an opening to retreat.[179] The battle ended on the banks of a lava river, where Kenobi leaped to safety in order to claim the high ground, pleading with Vader to concede defeat and abandon the fight. Blinded by rage and arrogance, Vader leaped at Kenobi, blade angled for the kill. However, he left himself open, allowing Kenobi to sever Vader's left arm and both of his legs with a devastating mou kei strike. Dropping his lightsaber, Vader rolled to the brink of the lava river.[11]
Anakin's immolation and Vader's rise
- "Lord Vader. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, master. Where is Padmé? Is she safe? Is she all right?"
"It seems, in your anger, you killed her."
"I…I couldn't have, she was alive, I felt it! [moaning and groaning] No!" - ―Sidious and Vader, the latter speaking in his armor for the first time
Physically crippled, Vader (with his blue eyes utterly transforming into the burning red-rimmed yellow of a Sith Lord, signalling his fall to the dark side) tried to claw his way up the talus using only his remaining prosthetic limb, but succeeded only in sliding closer to the lava river. As he did this, Kenobi and Vader exchanged their parting words, Vader screaming his undying hatred for Kenobi, while Kenobi, close to tears, expressed his regret and disappointment that Anakin, the man he had loved like a brother, had so spectacularly failed in his destiny to bring balance to the Force.[11]
Shortly after, the radiant heat of the lava ignited Vader's body, leaving him horribly burned and disfigured. He was nearly immolated as he slid down to the edge of the burning lava riverbank. Kenobi retrieved Skywalker's lightsaber from nearby and unable to finish the deed, left Vader for dead. He would keep this lightsaber until 0 BBY. As the flames began to subside, Vader kept himself alive with the dark side of the Force, his unbreakable will, and sheer hatred, clawing his way back up the bank with his still-intact mechanical arm, struggling against his extreme injuries.[11]
Darth Sidious, now the newly declared Emperor of the Galactic Empire, soon arrived and saved his injured apprentice from the bank of the lava river, placing him in a medical capsule and willing him to live. He then returned Vader to Coruscant via shuttle and repaired the damage to his body through intensive cybernetic enhancements at the Surgical Reconstruction Center. The Emperor ordered the medical droids to keep him awake during the agonizing reconstructive surgery so the pain would fuel his rage, and therefore his power. His new robotic extremities were updated versions of the same technology that transformed General Grievous into a cyborg.[11] Though he would still remain extremely powerful, Sidious knew that Vader's injuries had robbed him of much of his Force potential. In addition, both Vader and one of the medical droids, DD-13/HK, speculated that Vader's reconstruction may have been deliberately shoddy; a ploy by Sidious to prevent Vader from rebelling against him.[182] Upon his revival as a cyborg after several days of being reconstructed,[179] Vader questioned his Master about Amidala. Sidious, seeking to cut Vader's last tie to his former life and permanently cement the dark side in his heart, told Vader that he had killed his wife in his anger.[11] In addition, Vader's former identity, Anakin Skywalker, was deleted from various databanks upon the reconstruction being completed.[182]
Consumed by his despair in the belief he had killed Amidala and their unborn child, which fulfilled his prophetic dreams of her death, Vader destroyed the medical droids and severely damaged the facility through the Force. He broke his bindings on the operating table and struggled to walk under the sheer weight of his new prostheses and armor. He then let out a cry of despair over losing everything he had loved.[11] Having lost all that he had turned to the dark side to preserve, and having no other path, the only purpose that remained in Vader's life was his service to the new Emperor.[179]
The personality of Darth Vader became even more distinctive from Anakin Skywalker's due to the great physical and psychological damage that completely changed both his appearance and his character. His armor limited his vision, restrained his movement, and caused extreme frustration for Vader as he adapted to his new circumstances. As his eardrums had melted beyond repair in Mustafar's heat, sound waves had to be transmitted directly to implants in his inner ears to replace his hearing; however, the implants distorted sound waves and picked up too many ambient noises. His burned corneas and retinas required protective lenses to prevent further damage to his eyes. He would eventually retool his entire fighting style to make up for the lack of mobility that his armor imposed on him.[183]
As Darth Vader, Skywalker became a powerful asset to the Empire, serving as an enforcer, Jedi hunter, and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet of Palpatine's New Order. To cover up for Anakin Skywalker's involvement in the destruction of the Jedi Temple, rumors circulated that Skywalker had died trying to protect the children from Vader and the stormtroopers, which were widely accepted due to few people being aware that Vader and Skywalker were the same person.[184]
Serving the Emperor
Beginning his service
- "You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my Master."
- ―Vader to his son
Now in possession of a great amount of power, Vader began settling into his position as Palpatine's enforcer. However, several members of the Empire viewed Vader as being mad human wreckage.[185] Although in possession of great wealth, Vader allowed himself few comforts. Among those were his personal retreat on Coruscant and Bast Castle on Vjun. The 501st Legion, the stormtrooper division he led in the extermination of the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, became his personal guard. The actions they undertook in Vader's name over the course of the Civil War earned them the nickname of "Vader's Fist."[source?] Additionally, specific Special Force Troopers and a specialized Security Force were established as other personal units under Vader.[186] Vader piloted a black Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor during some of his early missions for Palpatine as the Great Jedi Purge continued, sometimes flanked by Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters. His personal command ship during this time was the Imperator-class Star Destroyer Exactor.
As one of his first missions following the end of the Clone Wars, Vader was sent to Serenno, where he summoned the heads of the great houses and their oldest sons to a meeting. There Vader branded them as traitors for supporting the former Count Dooku and the Separatists, demanding that they answer to their act. Despite the protests of the heads of the houses, Vader gave them a choice: each heir to each house would assume the title of the house by killing the current title holder, or they would all die. Vader believed that the houses of Serenno would be cleansed by their blood. Vader watched as Rodas Borgin and the other heirs killed their fathers. Vader then stood by as each new head swore fealty to the new head of House Dooku, Count Adan Dooku.[187]
One of the most notable missions undertaken by Vader was to the planet Honoghr, which had been devastated by the Separatist toxin Trihexalophine1138 during the Clone Wars. He promised the native Noghri that the Empire would restore Honoghr's ecosystem, in exchange for their service to the Empire as assassins.[188] Vader would later use Honoghr as a final training ground for Galen Marek, Tao, and Ennix Devian, the former two being his secret apprentices and the latter under the Emperor's orders of refining the Imperial soldier.
At an unknown point, he also participated in the Reconquest of the Rim in one of the conflicts at the Outer Rim.[189] At another unknown point, he also briefly re-encountered C-3PO at the Emperor's Ball, although the latter, not recognizing his former creator due to a memory wipe ordered by Bail Organa (and presumably not being privy to the information that the towering, armored cyborg was Anakin even without the memory wipe), initially mistook Vader for a new line of guard droid. Despite this mistake, Vader did not destroy C-3PO, presumably because of lingering memories of his past self, but instead sentenced him to a year of labor as a preschool attendant at the Imperial Palace.[190][191]
Murkhana
- "In due time, power will fill the vacuum created by the decisions you made, the acts you carried out. Married to the Order of the Sith, you will need no other companion than the dark side of the Force."
- ―Emperor Palpatine
One of Vader's earliest missions was to journey to Murkhana to deal with traitorous Clone troopers who had facilitated the escape of their former Jedi commanders, rather than comply with Order 66. Greeted by Clone Commander Salvo, Vader wasted no time, confronting the traitorous Ion Team. Though they attempted to fight back, the commandos were ultimately no match for Vader, and were forced to flee, though Vader managed to kill two of them.[183]
However, immediately afterward, Vader was confronted by the Jedi Bol Chatak, who had disguised herself as a former CIS mercenary and hid in the P.O.W. lines nearby. Chatak wanted to repay the Ion team for saving her life by removing Vader from the hunt, attacking the Sith Lord. Though she inflicted a wound on Vader's forearm, he ultimately brought her down, cutting off her sword arm and then decapitating her. However, defeating Chatak was fairly difficult for Vader, as he was still adapting to his life-support armor. The armor's cumbersome weight left his dueling abilities heavily impaired, his previously formidable technique reduced to a stilted and crude shadow, consisting primarily of vertical power-blows and heavy chops. In the end, he only brought down Chatak thanks to his superior height and reach, as well as the increased stamina the suit afforded him. As he repaired his damaged arm, he lamented that, before his transformation, only extremely adept duelists like Ventress and Dooku had ever been able to wound him. Chatak was the first Jedi Vader killed with his new Sith lightsaber, which had been constructed only a few weeks prior.[183]
However, Chatak's comrades—Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone—were still able to escape. Remaining hidden in the P.O.W. lines while Chatak was killed, they managed to break ranks after Vader departed, fleeing to the capital city of Murkhana and meeting with one of Shryne's criminal contacts—the crime boss Cash Garrulan. Unfortunately for them, Vader had not given up the hunt; confronting Garrulan, Vader deduced the location of the Jedi by following the opposite course of action suggested by Garrulan.[183]
Pursuing the Jedi above Murkhana in his starfighter, he missed them when their ship attached to a hyperspace ring left by Garrulan as he fled. Despite killing one of the Jedi and exposing Garrulan as a traitor, Vader considered the mission a failure.[183]
Kessel
- "WHERE IS OBI-WAN KENOBI?!"
"Not here, Sith. His name baited your trap."
"The first one to tell me where to find him lives. The rest of you die." - ―Vader, to Shadday Potkin and the other Jedi on Kessel
As the weeks passed, Vader became increasingly fixated on Kenobi, seeking revenge for his defeat on Mustafar. Vader tortured the Jedi Dama Montalvo in hopes of learning where Kenobi was hiding, but he became enraged when Montalvo refused, and broke the Jedi's neck just as Sidious entered the torture chamber. Reprimanding his apprentice, Sidious ordered Vader not to become obsessed with the Jedi, but when the Emperor departed, one of Vader's troops reported that surviving Jedi were gathering for a meeting on Kessel, and Kenobi was supposed to be among them. However, Vader was walking into a trap—Master Shadday Potkin was the source of Vader's information, and she had lured him there to kill him with the help of her fellow Jedi.[192]
Pursuing his quarry into an abandoned spice mine, Vader burst into the chamber where the Jedi awaited and demanded to know where Kenobi was, warning the Jedi that the first to tell him Kenobi's location would live. Impaling the Jedi Sia-Lan Wezz when she charged him, Vader, removed her hand with another lightsaber strike before he sent Master Koffi Arana flying with the Force. Vader struck down the Nikto Jedi Ma'kis'shaalas, but he was sent staggering when Jastus Farr's double-bladed lightsaber sliced across the back of his armor, and he leapt out of the way as a recovered Arana charged him from behind. Landing atop a nearby crane, Vader crossed blades briefly with Tsui Choi as the diminutive Jedi Master leapt over him, and Vader's saber was deactivated when he engaged Potkin and her cortosis blade.[192]
However, Vader simply tossed aside his lightsaber and gripped Potkin with the Force, pulling her into his grasp before breaking her neck and taking her cortosis blade. Leaping down from the crane, the Sith Lord once again questioned the Jedi as to Kenobi's location as he deactivated the blades of Roblio Darté, Farr, and Arana—but the nimble Choi soon sliced off Vader's hand and Bultar Swan delivered a strike to his leg, sending him stumbling backwards, and the Sith offered to surrender. Vader's offer drove Arana to kill Butlar Swan for her lightsaber when she refused to allow him to commit murder, and Vader dispatched Arana with the cortosis blade in his own severed hand by sending it flying into his chest with the Force.[192]
Summoning Arana's lightsaber to his hand, Vader once again demanded Kenobi's location as he advanced upon the three remaining Jedi, who began to pelter him with rocks and debris until he was forced to fall to his knees. Fortunately for the Sith, Vader's troops arrived just then and opened fire on the Jedi, killing Farr before the other two Jedi were able to shield themselves. Master Choi attempted to sacrifice himself so Darté could escape, but Vader stopped Choi's Force leap with telekinesis and pinned him in midair before Vader's troops, who eliminated both Jedi—but in his last moments, Choi sent his saber flying toward Vader and scored a hit across the Sith Lord's visor. The troopers relayed the Emperor's request for Vader to return to Coruscant, where he admitted his disobedience to his Sith Master but was surprised to learn that the Emperor had spread the rumor that Vader had killed a group of fifty Jedi on Kessel in order to drive the remaining Jedi underground and spread fear. Acknowledging Sidious' reminders that his fixation on Kenobi was a weakness, Vader received repairs for his damaged armor and continued to serve the fledgling Empire.[192]
New Plympto
Days later, after observing Palpatine's rule of the Empire (including the new Emperor distancing himself from Senator Braxis from a local political dispute despite promising aid, confirmation about the results of the Great Purge, and centralizing resources from the former Separatist worlds), he awaited a new assignment from Emperor Palpatine. He also underwent a debriefing on the Cleansing of New Plympto, which had the Emperor issue a detachment from Vader's 501st Legion to the fighting to end it. In the aftermath of the 501st Legion's victory over the Nosaurian resistance cell, and promised Commander Vill that he was certain the Emperor had a plan for them when he questioned what will be their purpose after the conflict. However, the Sith Lord grew despondent when Vill admitted that their transport was redirected by the Emperor's orders and tasked with selling the surviving Nosaurian women and children into the slave market on Orvax IV, due to Vader's past as a former slave on Tatooine. He was disturbed to the extent that he abruptly ended his participation in the debriefing and did not fall asleep. He later informed Palpatine of what he had learned, to which Palpatine assured him that the Imperial method was "different." Ultimately, unable to resist the power of the Emperor despite his misgivings, Vader oversaw the slave trade on New Plympto, with his troubled memories keeping him company.[193]
Underlevel duel and dealing with Otakon XII and Vaklin
Sometime afterwards, Vader was set by Palpatine to attack the Jedi survivor Sha Koon, under the pretense of humoring her request of becoming Palpatine's Sith apprentice, although both were not fooled. Vader then confronted her in the underlevels of the former Jedi Temple. Upon arrival, he was attacked by creatures controlled by Koon known as the Cthons, briefly being overwhelmed by an electromagnetic net that crippled his armor, although he broke out of the trap. He then engaged Koon in a short but intense duel after taking care of the Cthons, which resulted in him killing the Kel Dor Jedi Master. Although he believed he had killed the last Jedi, his victory nonetheless ended up hollow due to sensing that she had been at peace at the time of her death, and reported as much to his master. Unbeknownst to either of them, the reason she had been at peace was because she foresaw Vader's redemption and the recreation of the Jedi Order.[194]
Nonetheless, Vader was later assigned to defend an AT-AT production facility on the planet of Otavon XII from the Ovoni resistance during a battle there. Ultimately, the battle had been a failure due to the Ovoni and their commanders, Order 66 survivors Hylon and Dendro, deliberately exposing their survival to Vader to lure him away from the facility long enough for the Ovoni to completely destroy the plant. Vader as a result was forced to remain on the planet to contemplate his failure by the Emperor as his punishment.[195]
Some time afterwards, Vader ended up travelling to the planet Vaklin to deal with the Vaklin insurgency, caused by pro-Jedi sympathizers due to the Jedi's connections to the planet. Vader managed to kill a Jedi Master as well as have his apprentice imprisoned for four days. However, the Imperials soon met some harassment from the Vaklin's side, via the Jedi Cho'na Bene. After a bombing occurred at the base, Vader, angered at this development, considered bombing the civilian centers as revenge, although Palpatine declined, claiming that the planet and its subjects were too valuable to afford a bombardment. Vader instead orchestrated the destruction of all pro-Jedi monuments, also insuring that Bene was publicly executed by clone troopers when the Vaklin, due to Imperial propaganda-based schooling, refused to aid Bene.[196]
Meeting on Alderaan
Sometime afterward, the Emperor sent Vader to Alderaan to retrieve dissident senator Fang Zar, who had sought refuge with Bail Organa in the wake of the Empire's formation. Accompanied by Sate Pestage, he confronted Organa before searching the Senator's palace. Using his cybernetically augmented sight and hearing to his advantage, Vader came upon Zar, who was being extracted from Alderaan by a smuggler team, led by Roan Shryne.[183]
Since escaping Murkhana, Shryne and Olee Starstone had joined the smuggler crew captained by Shryne's mother; Jula. Their new crew had since been hired by Fang Zar to extract him before the Imperials did. Pursuing the Jedi and the smugglers through the palace and out onto the grounds, Vader ultimately brought down Zar just as he was boarding the smuggler's ship; the Drunk Dancer; by throwing his lightsaber into the hapless senator.[183]
Zar succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward. As such, Vader viewed the mission as a failure, as he had been tasked to retrieve Zar alive.[183]
Devastation of Kashyyyk
Returning to Coruscant to hone his skills, Vader was given a dressing down by the Emperor, who was displeased that Zar had been killed when Vader's task had been to bring him in alive. When Vader grew angry with the Emperor's comments, Sidious challenged Vader to kill him. He then threatened Vader with Force lightning, as the Emperor evidently was well aware that Vader's suit was vulnerable to electrical discharges. However, Vader retorted that he would not kill his Master until he had learned everything Sidious knew, for he recognized that the Emperor's teachings constituted "the path to power." Pleased with this response, Sidious informed Vader that the rogue Jedi he was hunting had been spotted heading to Kashyyyk. Devoting himself to hunting these Jedi, Vader began dealings with his old ally Wilhuff Tarkin, who had discovered a suspicious vessel traveling toward Kashyyyk. The two deduced that the vessel was carrying the Jedi, but Tarkin convinced Vader to allow it to reach Kashyyyk, so they could use the vessel's presence on the planet as an excuse to attack and occupy the world. Tarkin's motivation was the enslavement of the Wookiee race for use as manual laborers in the construction of the Death Star, which had encountered unexpected delays in construction due to a shortage of skilled laborers.[183]
Meeting with the various Imperial admirals who would command the invasion, Vader overruled their wishes to bombard the planet from orbit, as the goal was the capture of the Wookiees, not their destruction. However, his true motivation was to allow himself to hunt the Jedi planetside. As the attack began, the Imperial forces were initially crushed, due to the Wookiee's ingenious use of retrofitted civilian vehicles and captured Separatist war material left over from the Clone Wars. As Vader approached the city of Kachirho aboard his shuttle to attack the Jedi holed up there, he was contacted by the admirals and informed of the rapidly deteriorating situation. Not only were the Wookiee's holding off the Imperial assault, but they were evacuating their civilians deep into Kashyyyk's forests where they would be extremely difficult to capture. On the advice of his Clone Commander Appo, he begrudgingly ordered an orbital bombardment of all Wookiee cities, but with orders to save Kachirho for last, as he would be on the ground there. Landing on a platform high up in Kachirho, Vader and his cadre of stormtroopers disembarked and began fighting their way through the Wookiee warriors. Where before the Jedi and Wookiees had been holding off the Imperial forces, Vader now began cutting the Wookiee warriors down with impunity.[183]
In order to prevent further Wookiee casualties, the Jedi revealed themselves. Olee Starstone had since broken off from Roan Shryne when he joined the crew of the Drunk Dancer, and was now leading a ragtag group of surviving Jedi. Vader ordered the stormtroopers to continue attacking the Wookiees, leaving the Jedi to him. Siadem Forte and Iwo Kulka quickly engaged Vader and attempted to unbalance him by using radically different lightsaber forms. However, though he was not yet completely healed, Vader's technique had improved drastically since his duel with Bol Chatak. As observed by Olee Starstone, Vader's speed and agility were considerably greater and, instead of the formless vertical power blows he had utilized on Murkhana, his technique now borrowed elements from all lightsaber styles. With his new form, Vader easily held the two Jedi off, utilizing precision bladework and swift power attacks to put an end to their fancy twirling, disrupting their momentum and sending them reeling. Vader decapitated the two Jedi, and quickly disabled Jambe Lu, Nam Poorf and Klossi Anno.[183]
Olee Starstone was suddenly alone against the Sith Lord. Starstone attempted to bring down Vader with a sudden offensive flurry, but realized that Vader was merely allowing her to vent. Breaking off to reassess her strategy, she unwittingly allowed Vader to seize the offensive. However, before he could finish Starstone, Vader's stormtroopers were suddenly gunned down by a smuggler vessel that just appeared. Roan Shryne leaped off the Drunk Dancer, summoning Siadem Forte's lightsaber to his hand and beheading Appo. Confronting Vader, Shryne provided Starstone and the other surviving Jedi with a chance to escape, a chance Vader informed them would be foolish to pass up.[183]
As the two fought, Shryne held his own against Vader's relentless assault, even scoring a few minor hits. However, their battle was interrupted by the Imperial orbital bombardment. Though they both survived, Vader's shuttle was destroyed by the flak. As Vader drove Shryne back with heavy power blows, Shryne deduced that the chest-mounted control panel on Vader's suit was a weak point and as such, realized that Vader's style gave higher priority to protecting his center than his limbs. With this knowledge, Shryne went on the offensive, scoring a superficial hit on Vader's lower left leg which Shryne attributed as much to luck as to skill. Afterwards, the two exchanged a small verbal back-and-forth until Vader deactivated his weapon, surprising Shryne. Vader then began telekinetically ripping apart the wooden ramps in the Wroshyr tree in which the two were fighting. Using the Force, Vader flung the debris at the hapless Jedi in a continual barrage. Shryne surrendered himself to the Force in an attempt to block the onslaught of Force-propelled objects with his lightsaber, and for a short time was successful in doing so. However, Vader incrementally ramped up the intensity of his assault, throwing steadily larger chunks of wood at Shryne from all sides, faster than the Jedi could stop them. Shryne was struck by numerous planks and sharp wooden pegs, and was knocked from the suspension bridge on which the two were dueling.[183]
Fallen to a floor below, Shryne lay critically injured. Knowing Shryne would not survive his injuries, Vader chose not to finish the Jedi. Instead, in answer to Shryne's questions, he revealed that Palpatine was in fact a Sith Lord, and that he himself had formerly been Anakin Skywalker. His bloodlust sated, he now simply hoped to allow Shryne to die in misery, knowing that the Jedi Order had been betrayed by one of its own. Despite these revelations however, Shryne died at peace, having foreseen his own death. The defeat of Shryne firmed Vader's belief in the power of the dark side, greatly increasing his confidence in his abilities and reducing his emotional difficulties with his armor and prosthetic limbs. In addition, it also served to temper his hatred of the Jedi Order. Whereas before killing Shryne he had obsessed over hunting down the survivors of Order 66, afterwards he came to view them as neither different nor more important than any other group that would oppose the New Order. The Empire won the Battle of Kashyyyk, and Tarkin's plan to capture the Wookiees for use as slave labor was successful. In the aftermath of the battle, Darth Vader's existence and position as Palpatine's enforcer received public announcement, much to the dismay of Obi-Wan Kenobi.[183]
Muur Talisman
Aware that he could not bring down Palpatine and become the new Sith Master on his own, Vader began a covert search for an apprentice, or something that could increase his own power. Eventually, he started trailing an ancient Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman. After interrogating a sentient named Janks, he learned of a mysterious crate that Janks' ship, the Uhumele, was carrying. Vader contacted Fane Peturri, a well known historian, and set a trap for the Uhumele's crew. Vader ambushed the group on a remote moon and discovered the crate in their possession was none other than Dreypa's Oubliette, an artifact believed to contain the Muur Talisman and the Jedi who wore it.
Vader opened the oubliette, releasing Jedi Shadow Celeste Morne from her 4,000 year sleep. When Morne learned the Sith were in control of the galaxy, she immediately attacked Vader. The Sith Lord easily held her off, and taunted her with an offer of apprenticeship under him. She vehemently refused, and Vader began considering the idea of taking the talisman to increase his own power. However, he remained wary of the idea, concerned that even if he used it to destroy Sidious, he would become enslaved to the artifact, ultimately just trading one master for another.
However, before Vader could make a decision, Morne took action. Unwilling to let the Sith Lord be possessed by the spirit of Karness Muur, Morne used the talisman to turn all humans within the vicinity into rakghouls. Taken by surprise by the turn of events, Vader retreated to his ship and departed. While he considered this expedition a failure, he refused to give up his search for an apprentice.[197]
Bandomeer
Returning to Coruscant, Vader concealed the incident from Sidious, a reasonably simple task, as there were almost no witnesses save Morne, who was stranded on the moon, and the Uhumele crew, who were on the run. However, to his shock, he learned that a Jedi named Dass Jennir was once part of the Uhumele's crew. Vader's master assured him that he need not be concerned with the Jedi, who were scattered and divided, for Sidious had a plan for them. The elder Sith Lord then sent Vader to Bandomeer, where the mining crews were refusing to honor their contracts with the Empire. Vader could only ponder why his master would not involve him in his plan or if he was aware of Peturri's death. In addition, although assigned to the Imperial conquest of Bandomeer, Vader harbored suspicions that Palpatine assigned him to the battlefield in order to get him out of the way, as he felt he should be hunting down Jedi.
After successfully subjugating the miners, Vader met with Commander Vill as the clone gave a full report. Vader then asked Vill if, as nearly all the clones followed Order 66, they would attack him if the Emperor commands it. Vill stated that if such an order existed, he does not have the authority to divulge it. Seeing that as good as confirmation, Vader Force-choked him and threw him off a cliff so he could not report back to Sidious. He told an approaching clone that Vill slipped and fell.[198]
Pursuing Falco Sang
On the fourth month of Imperial rule, Vader arrived at Imperial Prison ISO-L8 to interrogate Janks regarding Dass Jennir, ignoring the Emperor's orders. However, before he could get the chance, an assassin named Falco Sang had interrogated and murdered Janks, intending to assassinate Jennir due to his earlier involvement in killing Dezono Qua. Despite the failure, as well as the Emperor's irritation at Vader's obsession with hunting down Jedi, Vader nonetheless was tasked with locating Sang. He eventually tracked both Jennir and Sang to the desert world of Prine. Although he had missed his main target of Jennir, he nonetheless managed to apprehend Sang while confiscating his ship, also locking him up in a training facility on Coruscant to train him for the purpose of killing Jennir when they eventually encountered each other.[199]
The search for Garoche Tarkin
- "You and Captain Shale will take two battalions of the 501st Legion. Find Admiral Tarkin and bring him home. Then we shall see…"
- ―Emperor Palpatine, tasking Darth Vader with rescuing Admiral Garoche Tarkin
Although Darth Vader had renounced his former identity as Anakin Skywalker in order to fully embrace the dark side of the Force, he did so only in appearance. The sacrifices he made to ascend to a position of power, second only to the Emperor, inflicted deep psychological scars that left Vader in a constant state of depression and emotional turmoil. In secret, he grieved over the consequences of his actions that led to the death of his wife and the near destruction of the Jedi Order. His guilt caused him to dream about a life that he thought might have been his if he had killed Darth Sidious, rather than saving him from Mace Windu. In his dreams of an "alternate life," Anakin Skywalker struck down the last Dark Lord of the Sith. With Sidious dead, Skywalker never became Darth Vader and the Republic was never transformed into the Galactic Empire. Padmé Amidala not only survived the birth of their son Jinn Skywalker, but was also pregnant once again, around the time when Skywalker ascended to the rank of Grand Master of the Jedi Order.[200]
Outside of his dreams, however, Vader tried to strengthen his severely weakened body by focusing entirely on all of his rage and hatred, thereby fueling the dark side within him. Nevertheless, a part of him still held onto the love that he had for Amidala, causing him to think of her while enduring the excruciating pain of having his prosthetic limbs reattached. In late 19 BBY, barely a few months after the end of the Clone Wars, Emperor Palpatine summoned Vader to his throne room with Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and Captain Shale at his side. The Dark Lord informed his apprentice that Moff Tarkin's son, Admiral Garoche Tarkin had recently disappeared while on an expedition to annihilate a group of insurgents in the Atoa system of the Ghost Nebula. Though the two of them had developed a good working relationship, Moff Tarkin lacked faith in Vader's abilities to retrieve his son alive, as Vader had a tendency to ignore previously assigned objectives if an opportunity to pursue Jedi survivors presented itself. As this mission was of great personal importance to Moff Tarkin, he requested for Captain Shale to be assigned to the mission to help keep Vader on track. As a friend of Garoche since their days at the Imperial Academy, Shale reasoned that he could provide a great deal of insight into Garoche's behavior. Vader had no desire to have Shale follow him around like a "shadow," but his objection was overruled by the Emperor's final word on the matter. Hence, Vader and Shale departed from Coruscant in an Imperial Star Destroyer; the Emperor personally assigned two battalions of the 501st Legion to serve Vader during the search for Tarkin's missing son.[200]
Skirmish on Atoa
- "We must be prepared for a war. Crush any resistance, but leave the officers alive. For interrogation."
- ―Darth Vader, issuing instructions to stormtroopers of the 501st Legion
After arriving in the Atoan system four days later, Darth Vader began his search for Admiral Tarkin on the planet Atoa. Due to the Empire's lack of information on the Atoan homeworld, Vader brought a company of stormtroopers onto Atoa to prepare for battle against hostile natives. Once they discovered a city populated by the Atoan civilians, Commander Voca reported that the city was also protected by an armed force of Atoans; Vader promptly ordered the clones to kill the Atoan soldiers without mercy.[200]
The stormtroopers obeyed the Sith Lord without question or hesitance. As they unleashed a brutally efficient assault on the Atoans, Vader took to the front and led a charge into the city until he was momentarily surprised by a lone sniper. Captain Shale, escorted by a squad of Storm commandos, assisted Vader by using stealth to sneak up on the sniper in order to render her unconscious. When the last of the resistance fell, Vader ordered Commander Voca to round up the Atoan survivors and to bring them to the bank of a freezing river just outside of the city. But his interrogation of the prisoners failed to yield any useful information on Tarkin's whereabouts. Thus, Vader ordered Voca to execute all of the city's inhabitants that were old enough to wield a weapon before burning the entire city to the ground; the prisoners were to be drowned in the river.[200]
However, before Voca could carry out the Sith Lord's command, a trio of Atoan priests approached the Imperials by using a boat to cross the river. Before Voca or Shale could open fire, Vader ordered them to stand down. A priestess then came forward in peace and introduced herself as Lady Saro, the high priestess of Atoa. She promised to help Vader find whatever he was looking for.[200]
The alliance with Lady Saro
- "I agree to your terms. Once we find Admiral Tarkin, this system is yours. But you will swear loyalty to the Emperor."
"Of course. I'll even build temples in your honor should you so desire, Lord Vader." - ―Darth Vader and Lady Saro
However, Lady Saro's assistance was not for free. In return for her aid in the Imperials' search for Admiral Tarkin, the Lady requested that Darth Vader support her bid to become the sovereign of the Atoan system. Her request only served to infuriate the Sith Lord, who was too used to receiving unconditional cooperation by then. Yet he could not harm her as there were no other leads to Tarkin. Thus, he resorted to his methods of persuasion through fear. After returning to his Star Destroyer with Lady Saro as his "guest," Captain Shale escorted the priestess to the vessel's medical chamber where Vader dissected the body of an Atoan prisoner. But the more he tried to intimidate Lady Saro, the more she stood her ground, even to the point where she risked execution after revealing how she learned to speak Imperial Basic—by swallowing the tongue of a stormtrooper, thus killing him in the process.[201]
When it became clear that Lady Saro would not speak until Vader agreed to her term, she was sent to Deck Sixteen and placed under guard while Vader returned to dissecting the Atoan prisoner's body. Once Lady Saro was gone, Shale interceded with Vader on the Lady's behalf. The captain reasoned that they were wasting time by refusing her only condition and that the Emperor had made Moffs out of lesser men. Hence, there was no real harm in denying her control of the Atoan system, so long as she swore her allegiance to the Galactic Empire. Vader ignored Shale at first, but then lost his temper and grabbed Shale by the neck through the Force, reminding him that command of the mission rested in Vader's hands alone. Shale rebuffed Vader's threat and countered with a warning of his own—Moff Tarkin would personally ensure that Vader would never have another command again if he failed to rescue Garoche Tarkin. Although clearly angered and tempted to kill the outspoken Imperial officer, he released Shale from his grip and left to meditate in private on Lady Saro's offer.[201]
Once again, he dreamed about his fantasy life where he was still Anakin Skywalker. In his dream, "Skywalker" and his son Jinn were providing moral support to a nervous Padmé Amidala. She was originally convinced that the galaxy was fed up with politicians; that the Senate needed a Jedi to lead the Galactic Republic after the debacle with Palpatine and his failed attempt to secure unlimited power through the Clone Wars. Most of all, however, Amidala was afraid that she would make the wrong decisions as the new Supreme Chancellor. But Anakin and Jinn both assured Amidala that they not only believed in her, but would also stand at her side as she strove to ensure that her time as Chancellor would usher in a new golden age of peace and prosperity for the Galactic Republic. But his "picture-perfect" dream and the happiness of his "alternate-self" was far too much for Vader to handle emotionally, thus waking him up with the same anguish and regret over his actions that destroyed the life that could have been his.[201]
After recovering from the ordeal of his dreams, Darth Vader approached Lady Saro with an answer to her one and only request in exchange for finding Admiral Tarkin. In exchange for information on the Admiral's whereabouts, Vader grudgingly agreed to allow Lady Saro to rule over the Atoan system so long as she acknowledged Emperor Palpatine as her lord and sovereign. With Vader's agreement finally secured, Lady Saro directed the Sith Lord in the direction to where Admiral Tarkin's missing Star Destroyer was located. Upon reaching the vessel's destination, Vader piloted his personal starfighter to gain a closer look at the remains of the immensely damaged warship. He was accompanied by Shale and Voca, as well as a squadron of V-wing starfighters.[201]
But just as Voca noted that the damage to the Star Destroyer indicated that it was destroyed from within by sabotage, the Imperials were suddenly caught in a surprise attack by Atoan starfighters. Yet even with the element of surprise, they were unable to compete against the superior technological assets of the Empire. Before concluding the skirmish in space, Vader captured an Atoan pilot, whom he kept alive long enough for an interrogation. After Vader learned everything that he wanted to know before the pilot's death, he contacted Emperor Palpatine via hologram to provide his Master with an update report on the mission's status. Palpatine confided in Vader that he personally cared nothing about Admiral Tarkin, whom he saw as just another expendable asset that could be replaced at a moment's notice. The only reason that the Emperor authorized a rescue mission was because of Garoche's father, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who had proven himself to be a valuable asset to the New Order.[201]
To gain his Master's approval, Vader suggested that he should kill Garoche Tarkin instead of rescuing him. He believed that the younger Tarkin's death would push Moff Tarkin ever further into darkness, thus enabling him to fully commit to the utter destruction of the Empire's enemies. To ensure that the Moff did not suspect any foul play in his son's demise, Vader stated that he would cover up his involvement by placing the blame on the Atoan insurgents. Palpatine was well pleased with Vader's proposal and secretly authorized his apprentice to proceed with the new plan. Upon returning to the bridge, Vader ordered Commander Voca to assemble the 501st Legion and to prepare for a ground assault on the unknown world where Garoche Tarkin was allegedly held prisoner. The assault, however, was merely a diversion for Vader and Shale to launch a stealth attack on the insurgents with the aid of the storm commandos.[201]
A botched "rescue" attempt
- "Sink the city. Bring our forces back to the Star Destroyer. And then we will discuss these charges against Admiral Tarkin. Your friend."
- ―Darth Vader to Captain Shale, just after their failure to find Garoche Tarkin
The efforts of the Imperial assault force were hindered by the fact that the entire planet was virtually covered in tar-pits that were dangerously hot and potentially flammable. Added to their complications was the fact that their target, an Atoan city, was built as a ship that could travel on the tar-pits. This made it difficult for the considerably slow-moving Imperial AT-AT Walkers to get within range of the city to inflict damage. Thus, several Walkers and clone squads were lost due to the pressure of moving through the tar-pits while under enemy fire at the same time. When the Atoans were convinced that they had escaped from the pursuing Imperials, Vader and Shale executed their stealth mission by utilizing an Imperial LAAT gunship to board the city. While Vader and his squad of storm commandos infiltrated the city through one route, Captain Shale and Lady Saro followed a different path to the prison block with their own commando escort unit.[202]
Both groups killed their fair share of Atoan guards without alerting the entire city. Upon reaching what they thought was Tarkin's cell, however, Vader only found the Admiral's protocol droid. The droid was commanded to present a "gift" to any Imperial that came looking for him. But the "gift" turned out to be a bomb and Vader, realizing the trap at the last possible moment, warned his troops and Lady Saro to take cover. Although Vader was caught in the middle of the explosion, he survived with almost no injury to himself, despite sustaining noticeable damage to his armor. Enraged at such an unexpected turn of events, the Sith Lord disregarded stealth for the direct approach—a swift and open assault on the city's bridge.[202]
Thanks to the skills of Captain Shale and the storm commandos, the capture of the bridge crew was easily achieved with little effort; Vader himself personally apprehended the female Atoan captain. Yet his latest round of interrogation proved to be just as ineffective as the last ones throughout the mission. Despite failing to gain a clear understanding on why Admiral Tarkin had set a trap for his Imperial rescuers or what his exact relationship was with the Atoans, Vader came to suspect that the admiral was a traitor to the Empire. After several prisoners were mercilessly executed at Vader's hand, the Imperials returned to the Star Destroyer. Shortly afterward, Vader had another dream of his alternate life, only this time he hallucinated that Padmé was warning him to "wake up" because of the assassins that were coming for him. At that moment, Vader awakened to find himself surrounded by Shale's storm commandos, all of whom had their weapons trained on him. He activated his lightsaber after suddenly realizing that Shale had betrayed the Empire by somehow inciting the commandos into staging a mutiny against the Sith Lord.[202]
The mutiny
- "It's a mutiny, Lord Vader! They've executed all of the officers and locked down the communications array."
"None of that matters now, Commander Voca. Gather your men and follow me." - ―Commander Voca and Darth Vader
The treacherous storm commandos wasted little time and opened fire on Darth Vader, intending to kill their former master without hesitation. Vader responded by unleashing his rage on the clones, all of whom were completely outmatched by the vengeful Sith Lord. Before the last traitor died, he excused his actions and those of his fellow conspirators by revealing that Shale had warned them about his suspicion that Vader planned to murder Admiral Tarkin. Vader confirmed that Shale was right before executing the clone for committing high treason.[203]
As Vader searched his warship for Shale and the other traitors, he found Commander Voca and his men pinned down by blaster fire from storm commandos. With Vader's assistance, Voca and the stormtroopers took their opportunity to kill their attackers. But shortly after regrouping with his loyal soldiers, the Star Destroyer was critically damaged by several explosions that took place all over the Star Destroyer, thus mirroring the same form of sabotage that destroyed Admiral Tarkin's vessel. Before heading to the hangar, Vader and Voca tried to retrieve Lady Saro, only to discover that her guards were murdered and that she was likely transported by Shale to the nearby unknown planet. With no other reason to remain aboard the doomed Star Destroyer, Vader and his men hunted down the last storm commandos that were trying to escape the ship; he killed them all by telekinetically throwing a V-wing starfighter at the commandos. With only a little time left to make it off of the Star Destroyer alive, Voca and the remaining stormtroopers boarded a Nu-class attack shuttle while Vader operated as its pilot.[203]
Though they escaped from the final and largest explosion within the Star Destroyer, the shuttle was nearly destroyed after crashing onto the unknown world where Shale and Saro fled. Only Vader, Voca and eight stormtroopers emerged from the shuttle as survivors of the crash. Then they pursued Shale on foot until they found the last of the captain's storm commandos, all of whom had been executed. At that moment, a large group of Atoan insurgents used the high ground to their advantage and opened fire on the unsuspecting Imperials. Trapped in a hopeless position and utterly outnumbered, Vader ordered the clones to retreat before they were all cut down. He then faced the insurgents alone with his lightsaber in hand and introduced himself as "Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith and 'death' itself."[203]
But while he was distracted by the insurgents' main force, the path to escape was cut off to Commander Voca and his men by a group of armed Atoans, led by the traitor Shale. Exhausted and no longer able to defend themselves, Voca and the stormtroopers were executed by Shale's firing squad. Although many insurgents perished by Vader's blade, he too was overwhelmed and severely injured by the Atoans, who captured him alive in accordance with Lady Saro's orders. When Vader awoke, he found that his helmet was removed and was replaced with a crude breathing device to keep the Sith Lord alive. He was also restrained by energy cables as Garoche Tarkin revealed himself. Tarkin explained that he joined with Lady Saro's Atoan faction shortly after being assigned to wipe out the insurgents in the Ghost Nebula. Vader deduced that Tarkin was clearly in love with Lady Saro, which the former admiral confirmed when he stated his intention to rule the Atoan system at Lady Saro's side. He also revealed how Vader was an unwitting pawn in their scheme by killing all of the other major Atoan factions that posed a threat to Lady Saro's plans. When Tarkin exited the tent, Vader was suddenly struck by a vision of his wife, who bore the pregnant appearance that she had near the time of her death.[203]
Showdown with Lady Saro, Garoche Tarkin and Shale
- "Yes. I killed you. I killed you. I killed the child you carried. And I hate myself for all that I have done."
- ―Darth Vader confesses his self-hatred to the spirit of Padmé Amidala
In Vader's vision of his dead wife, Padmé Amidala was heartbroken to see what her once heroic Jedi husband had been reduced to—a broken shadow of the man he once was. Vader tried to excuse his fate by blaming his decisions on his Masters, Darth Sidious and Obi-Wan Kenobi respectively. But Amidala was not moved by Vader's feelings of self-pity and referred to him by his birth name. In that moment, Darth Vader angrily rejected his former name and regarded it as something that no longer possessed any meaning for him. He tried to rationalize his frustrations at himself by declaring that Anakin Skywalker died with his wife. But in rejecting who he once was, Vader caused Amidala to turn away since she had come for Anakin, not Vader. The Sith Lord panicked at first, and then flew into a rage. Breaking free of his bonds in desperation, he was all but trapped in a hysterical delusion as he searched for his dead wife.[204]
His desperate search for Amidala turned into a rampage that brought him straight to Lady Saro's Cathedral, where she, Garoche Tarkin and Shale were located. As Vader killed the Atoan guards that stood in his path of destruction, Shale tried to give Tarkin and Lady Saro enough time to escape from the deranged Sith Lord. He tried to strike Vader down with the Sith Lord's own lightsaber, only to be quickly disarmed, thus finding himself at the mercy of an enraged Darth Vader who demanded to know where his wife was. Shale was utterly shocked by Vader's words and honestly retorted that he had no idea what Vader was rambling about. But Vader was far too lost in his anger towards those who betrayed him, as well as himself for causing Amidala's death. At that moment, Shale confessed about how the guilt he carried over the atrocities he had committed led him to deeply resent Emperor Palpatine and the Galactic Empire. He swore to be a good soldier, but instead became just another slave to a tyrant Emperor. Before he could be killed by Vader, however, Shale activated several bombs that were hidden under his jacket, intending to kill himself and Vader in the process. Vader narrowly avoided sharing in Shale's fate by throwing the former officer far enough to avoid the resulting explosion.[204]
As Vader descended deeper into the depths of the Cathedral, he encountered another vision of Amidala, whose beauty was overtaken by the decaying effects of death. She forced Vader to stop lying to himself and finally confront the truth—Amidala did not just "die," she was murdered in cold blood by her own husband. Overwhelmed by the indescribable pain and sorrow that filled his entire being, Darth Vader fell to his knees with tears of remorse in his eyes. He confessed to everything, from killing his wife to destroying his life as Anakin Skywalker; he confessed his belief that Amidala's unborn child died as a result of his actions as well. Ultimately, what he hated most of all was himself for all of the evil that he committed as Darth Vader. Amidala forgave her husband, whom she referred to by his Sith title, causing Vader to shed a final tear for all that he had lost.[204]
When she vanished into thin air, Vader became hysterical once more. Lady Saro and Garoche Tarkin revealed themselves, causing a shocked Vader to believe that the priestess had somehow induced him with hallucinations. However, Lady Saro explained that she possessed the ability to see in ways that most others could not, an ability that she could share with anyone, thus enabling Vader to see the spirit of his dead wife. Vader grabbed Tarkin by the throat through the Force and threatened to kill the ex-admiral unless Saro brought Amidala's spirit back. But instead, Saro desperately tried to redeem Darth Vader by begging him to put an end to his persona as a murderer. She presented him with the chance of redemption, which he could have by sparing Tarkin and Saro. In her last attempt to reach the side of Vader that was still Anakin Skywalker, Saro revealed that she was carrying Garoche Tarkin's unborn daughter. The revelation caused Vader to hesitate before releasing Tarkin from his grip. Saro looked at the Sith Lord with hope, but Vader simply could not go on living any longer. In a moment of clarity and a desire to atone for his sins, he chose to leave his fate up to the will of the Force. Thus, Vader used his power to bring the entire Cathedral down upon himself, Garoche Tarkin and Lady Saro. As Tarkin and Saro embraced each other lovingly for the last time, Vader closed his eyes in a moment of bliss as the entire building collapsed to the ground, burying the three alive.[204]
Days later, Darth Vader awoke to find himself on Coruscant and in the presence of Emperor Palpatine. As his repairs were nearly finished, Palpatine voiced his satisfaction with the results of Vader's mission—all of the traitors were dead, the entire insurgency was destroyed, the Atoan system was conquered and Vader survived after being buried alive for days. Vader credited the power of the dark side as the source of his remarkable strength and ability to survive near-death scenarios. Palpatine also explained how Moff Tarkin was under the impression that his son was murdered by the Atoa's natives, thus fueling his hatred and making him ever more vicious towards the Empire's many enemies. As such, the Emperor was quite pleased to have a much more powerful servant in Wilhuff Tarkin, and thus he thanked Vader for "failing" to rescue Garoche Tarkin. After Vader's repairs were finished, he was dressed once more in his armor, which had been restored to its previous condition. Falling on one knee before his Sith Master, Vader awaited his next assignment from Darth Sidious.[204]
The Gentis coup
- "But when Lord Vader came to our aid in the courtyard, I realized that serving him could earn an officer the only two things that mattered…fear and respect."
- ―Laurita Tohm, recounting his first impression of Darth Vader
In the few months since the formation of the New Order, Darth Vader's reputation had spread through the military ranks. Aside from crushing local insurrections, tracking down missing Star Destroyers and hunting down wanted fugitives who survived the Clone Wars, the Dark Lord of the Sith was also known for summarily executing numerous Imperial officers under his command—a fact that made him a dreaded figure among many within the chain of command. On Coruscant, Vader stood at Emperor Palpatine's side as the two Sith Lords presided over an Imperial Academy graduation ceremony, composed of cadets trained by Headmaster Gentis at the military institute on Raithal.[205]
Hours after the event, Gentis and his students initiated a secret insurrection against the Emperor's rule. Hundreds of strategically placed explosives were suddenly detonated across Imperial City, destroying key targets such as the officers' club, a communications tower, the supply depot and several military garrisons. As fire swept through much of the city, Darth Vader and a squadron of stormtroopers defended the Imperial Plaza from a group of rebellious cadets. Frightened by the Dark Lord's Force powers and combat skills, the students pulled back, though not before a few were crushed by a large piece of rubble that Vader telekinetically threw at them.[205] As the troopers secured the Plaza, Cadet Laurita Tohm discovered that one of the dying insurrectionists was Shens, his friend and fellow student from Raithal. Vader watched as Shens was executed for treason by Tohm, whom he recognized to be the valedictorian from the graduation ceremony. After Tohm declared his allegiance to the Emperor and the Dark Lord, Vader ordered the cadet to accompany him to the Imperial Palace.[206]
Rescuing the Emperor
- "We will do as you suggest—and spirit the Emperor away before Gentis can find us. But we will do so under my command."
- ―Darth Vader, to Moff Trachta
By the time Darth Vader and Laurita Tohm arrived at the Imperial Palace's front entrance, a large explosion erupted in the higher levels of the building, followed by the contamination of the entire residence by poisonous fumes known as Aorth-6. Protected by his armor's respiratory system, Vader entered the palace, accompanied by Tohm who equipped his own breathing device, while many Imperial officers fell victim to the gas's lethal effects. Upon reaching the Emperor's private chambers, the Sith Lord found his Master in a weak condition; Palpatine was infected by the virus and his condition was critical—only the Force could keep him alive for a while until his condition could be treated. For the first time, Vader saw his all-powerful master finally as a frail, old man close to death, no more dangerous than a Jawa. Another survivor that Vader discovered was Moff Trachta, also unaffected by Aroth-6 because of his implanted respiration system. Though initially resistant to the Moff's recommendation of retreat, believing it to be a sign of weakness, Vader grudgingly complied when Palpatine agreed that he needed to be removed to a safe location for the time being.[206]
Together with Trachta and Tohm, Darth Vader brought the transferred Emperor Palpatine to an advanced stealth transport that was hidden in a secret hangar known as the "Crypt." With the Emperor's condition temporarily stabilized by the starship's stasis chamber, Vader and Trachta debated on their next course of action, between remaining on Coruscant or retreating to an off-world location. At the same time, Trachta aimed his sidearm at Tohm, whom he did not trust because of the cadet's former ties to Gentis. Darth Vader immediately disarmed the Moff and agreed to take the Emperor away from the capital. Once Trachta acknowledged Vader's greater authority, Tohm advised that any Imperial location was not safe. Given the scale of Gentis's revolution, Tohm believed that the entire military wing could not be trusted since they could not account for the exact number of those who sided with the Headmaster's cause. Vader concurred with the cadet, but also realized that there were other facilities that were classified by the Jedi High Council—secret places hidden from both Palpatine and Vader's former self, Anakin Skywalker.[206]
Ruins of the Jedi Temple
- "You fools! The Emperor was right about you all! You plotted and schemed against us from the beginning! Traitors! This is a temple to betrayal. We will raze it when we return to Coruscant."
- ―Darth Vader, outraged by the Jedi Council's lack of trust in him
While Gentis and his revolutionaries secured Coruscant under their control, Darth Vader and Laurita Tohm journeyed to the fallen Jedi Temple. After a brief skirmish with several automated training droids, the two reached the High Council Tower where Vader activated a holographic recording of a discussion between Anakin Skywalker and the members of the Jedi Council.[206] Throughout the Clone Wars, Skywalker had apprehended a number of Force-sensitive war criminals that mysteriously disappeared once transferred to the Council's authority. He demanded to know their location, only to be reprimanded for his behavior by Jedi Master Mace Windu, who also dismissed the young Jedi Knight's accusations of conspiracy and secrecy.[66]
The recording also displayed the conference that took place after Skywalker left the Chamber, in which the Council revealed the existence and location of the Prism, a secret detention center that contained dangerous Force-wielders, all of whom were overseen by a single Jedi warden. Darth Vader lost control of his anger upon discovering that the Jedi Order had its own penitentiary facility—a secret that they did not entrust to Anakin Skywalker. Enraged and bitter toward the holographic representation of his former comrades, the Dark Lord used the Force to hurl the Council seats out of the tower's window, and vowed to raze the temple to the ground after they put an end to Gentis' rebellion.[66]
The Ghost Prison
- "How many?"
"Two hundred and eight, Lord Vader. But this can't be correct… According to these records, this man—Anakin Skywalker—arrested more than half of these prisoners." - ―Darth Vader, and Laurita Tohm
Afterward, Vader, Trachta and Tohm followed the Prism's coordinates to the Diab system on the edge of the galaxy. Due to security precautions, the Prism was cut off from all communications with the outside world. A female Jedi warden, unaware of the Jedi Order's destruction per Order 66, sought to greet her visitor, believing Darth Vader to be her replacement. When she was caught by surprise by the Dark Lord's appearance, Vader used the distraction to impale her through the abdomen while Trachta and Tohm destroyed the Jedi's security droids.[66]
The ailing Emperor Palpatine was immediately taken to the Prism's infirmary. Its advanced medical technology stabilized the Emperor's condition, although he required more time to regain his full health. During Palpatine's recovery, the prison's inmate files were analyzed by Vader and Tohm, the latter of whom found it unlikely that one Jedi—Anakin Skywalker—was responsible for the arrests of more than half of the facility's prisoners. Vader confirmed the records' accuracy, and referred to his former self as one of the Jedi Order's best generals during the Clone Wars. When Tohm inquired about Skywalker's fate, the Dark Lord vaguely stated that he had killed Skywalker. Not long after, Tohm approached Vader with a plan that revolved around utilizing the Prism's prisoners as an army to recapture Coruscant from Gentis's insurgents.[66]
Prison riot
Vader, however, came up with another plan: He arranged to have all 207 prisoners fight amongst themselves in the Prison yard to find out which of them were worthy enough to fight alongside Vader. Of the prisoners, only 33 of them survived in good enough condition to join.[207]
Final battle
Afterwards, Darth Vader, alongside Tohm, Trachta, a newly recovered Palpatine, and the 33 prisoners, returned to Coruscant to deal with Gentis and his traitorous supporters. As they landed, Vader immediately exited the transport on which the strike team was situated and was attacked by Gentis's soldiers. Utilizing a glimmering Protection bubble to deflect their blaster bolts, Vader then unleashed a massively powerful Force Wave, killing dozens of his attackers and clearing the area so that the rest of the strike team could disembark. After the battle was won, Vader wanted the prisoners killed to prevent them from later rebelling, but Trachta disagreed, believing that their invaluable service to the Empire warranted more than execution. As they argued, Tohm proposed an apparent compromise between the two, suggesting that the prisoners be exiled in honor. In actuality, Vader and Tohm had planned for them to be killed in the planned destruction of a transport ship. Afterwards, shortly after Tohm's promotion to Admiral by Palpatine, Vader pushed Tohm off the cityscape of Coruscant, in order to "not suffer from rivals."[208]
Observing Falco Sang
- "Your fear will be the death of you!"
- ―Vader chastising Falco Sang
In the aftermath of the Gentis coup, Vader arrived at the construction site for the Imperial Palace, and learned from Gregg's report on Sang that he was being subject to the obstacle course, but Sang had deduced they were using stinger blasters and is neither evading nor shooting back, and that he had attempted to escape twice. Vader then ordered Gregg to replace the weapons with live blasters alongside the specific orders to wound Sang, intending to pay a visit to the training facility the next day.[210]
Making good of his promise, he then visited the training center where Sang was held up at. Sang then angrily confronted Vader while in a hoverchair regarding one of the droids shooting his leg, injuring it. He then accused Vader of trying to kill him. Vader then telekinetically lifted Sang up and told him that Sang would not even be in front of him had Vader intended to kill him, and also threatened that if Sang did not improve with his training, and thus proved himself useful to him or the Empire, he would make sure to kill him in person.[209] His obsession with hunting down Jennir also led him to decline on supplying more manpower to Imperial Commander Teron at Arkinnea for investigating mistreatment of refugees.[211]
Vader eventually learned of the divergence of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tenacious to Arkinnea from Gregg, and promptly scolded him for bringing it up, since it did not deal with any apparent immediate relation to hunting Jedi.[212]
At some point afterward, he got into a fight with Sang after he arranged for the latter's ship to be delivered to the prison facility. After grabbing him by the neck, Sang admitted that he was trying to impress Vader based on a suggestion made by Lieutenant Gregg. Afterwards, Vader knocked him back and merely commented the engines needed fixing before leaving Gregg and Sang to fix them.[213] Vader eventually learned of a potential sighting of Dennir on the Colonies planet Kestavel from Gregg and had the Hound prepped to depart within the hour. Unknown to him was that Gregg had himself secretly learned this information from Emperor Palpatine himself, and that Jennir was actually luring Vader into a trap.[214] He eventually arrived on the Hound, albeit aboard Sang's ship instead of his own shuttle, causing some initial confusion from the crew awaiting his arrival.[215] Upon arriving at Kestavel, Vader personally led a detachment of clone troopers to The Lucky Twi'lek hotel/cantina, stopping briefly only to disarm a booby-trapped archway after sensing the danger. However, while he sensed the engine-fuel flood and jumped up a cliff, his detachment was not as fortunate: they ended up drenched in the fuel and ignited by Jenner as part of an assassination attempt on the Sith Lord.[216] Vader located Jedi Master Kai Huddora (the latter of whom he sensed earlier), and proceeded to duel with him. Although successful in killing Huddora and preventing him from detonating the building's reactors, he failed in locating Jennir, as Huddora secretly arranged to have him spirited off the planet.
He instead found the ex-Jedi Master Beyghor Sahdett, who revealed his allegiance to the Sith, Sidious more specifically, to handle the Jedi where Vader could not. Vader in turn ended the life of the Verpine Sith by decapitating him. But as he did so, he dropped the detonator, causing it to go off. Vader survived the explosion and was rescued by Sang, who was dispatched was Gregg to rescue him. Once on board, he informed the bounty hunter of Jennir's escape. Though Sang assumed that their mission was a failure, Vader corrected that he at least got to kill two Jedi.[217]
Hunting Olin
- "I will watch you, too, Ferus. And if there is a battle between us, I will win."
- ―Fourteen-year-old Anakin Skywalker, to his Padawan rival, Ferus Olin
A year later, while recovering from his wounds, Vader was forced to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He arrived to find Inquisitor Malorum having difficulties with intruders. Vader ridiculed Malorum for having difficulty in capturing the reported intruders, much to the chagrin of the Inquisitor, who had plans of replacing Vader as the Emperor's crony. Vader even went as far as to suggest that Malorum blow up the Temple to ensure the intruders' deaths, though he knew very well that the Inquisitor would not even attempt to. The two also quarreled about Malorum's lack of dealing with the secret resistance group, the Erased. When Malorum mentioned to Vader his findings on Polis Massa, the Sith Lord held him in a Force choke and his anger started to cave-in the walls of the room, exposing Ferus Olin, a former Jedi rival of his, and his companion Trever Flume. As a result of Malorum's failure to capture the intruders, Vader let the pair escape.[218]
A short time afterward, Vader was ordered by the Emperor to go to the planet Samaria, where sabotage of the computer systems had caused the planet to go into chaos. While searching for the saboteur, he again ran into Ferus Olin. This time, however, Olin had the protection of the Emperor and could not be arrested. After this meeting, though, Vader had much to ponder about Olin's apparent change of sides. Some time later, Vader was assigned to the Imperial garrison on Bellassa. However, after cutting down Roan Lands—one of The Eleven resistance members—and once more exposing Olin's treachery, the Emperor intervened on Olin's behalf and reassigned Vader to a troublesome garrison under construction in the Bellassan mountains. However, Vader confronted Olin one more time in the Jedi Temple, and engaged him in a Lightsaber duel. Olin eventually revealed that he knew of Vader's marriage to Amidala, it had little effect on Vader, and the two dueled on, both using the dark side regularly. Eventually, Olin retreated to the Reactor room of the Temple, and threw a Sith Holocron he had received from Palpatine into the reactor. While Olin was distracted Vader caught up with him and used the Force to throw him against the wall. Vader then used the Force to almost strangle him and left him to die. Afterwards he used the prototype Death Star to destroy the secret asteroid base used by Olin to shelter survivors of Order 66, the coordinates of which had been given to him by spy Eve Yarrow.[218]
Other survivors of Order 66 eliminated by Vader include Empatojayos Brand, who was forced to live out the remainder of his life inside a pressure suit, and Halagad Ventor, whom Vader interrogated for information on other Jedi survivors. Other survivors found by Vader include Qu Rahn, Rachi Sitra and Kento Marek.[219] While Marek was eventually cut down by the Sith Lord, Rahn and Sitra became some of the few Jedi who encountered Vader and lived to fight another day, the methods of how the two survived is unknown. Eventually, the two Jedi aided the Rebel Alliance and the future son of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, in their fight against the Empire.
Operation: Twilight
Darth Vader later participated in Twilight, a secret, large-scale operation conducted by the Empire. Part of the operation dealt with creating a serum designed to wipe away up to 50 years of a person's memory once injected. He personally participated in the operation in part to eliminate his memories of Amidala, as the memories as well as his guilt of killing her continued to haunt him. However, after he learned that not only was any written data for the serum destroyed by a duo of Jedi, but the head of the project, Jenna Zan Arbor, was injected with the serum, thus removing any chance of recreating the serum, he executed Arbor for her failure. Nonetheless, the project was also designed to track down and wipe out the leaders of an early rebel movement in one fell swoop. He accomplished this via a plant in their ranks, and upon capturing them, had a Star Destroyer equipped with a superlaser destroy the main Rebel hideout, along with most of the leadership.
The Heinsnake plot
Evading assassination attempts
Some time later, Vader found himself under the vengeful watch of a wealthy industrialist, due to killing the industrialist's son when the latter tried to disrupt an Empire-enforced business deal. As such, he killed eight assassins that were hired by the industrialist to kill him, and eventually was tailed by a ninth.[220]
Assassination attempts on the Emperor
Vader was eventually summoned by the Emperor himself. However, shortly after arriving, he then unexpectedly Force Pushed the Emperor away and hurled the throne out of the window. Vader's reason soon became clear when the throne exploded due to a bomb being placed underneath. Vader then executed two of the royal guards by hurling them out of the window, citing lack of time as his reason (as they would normally have been punished by a slow and painful death for their failure to protect the Emperor). He then berated the remaining five royal guards for being incompetent or otherwise conspiring against both the Emperor and the Empire. He then executed the two guards who failed to kneel in guilt, and spared the remaining five when they accepted responsibility for the failure, and assigned two of them to protect the Emperor, two of them to accompany Vader, and the remaining one to cover up the attempted assassination, he then went to his master's side. He eventually learned that the Heinsnake Cult was responsible after an encounter with a cultist who blew himself up during their investigation. Upon learning from his Master the history of the Heinsnake Cult, he then was dispatched to wipe out the cult of dark side sorcerers, all while the ninth assassin stalked him.[221]
Investigating the Heinsnake Cult's moon
While investigating the location of the Heinsnake Cult, he eventually found a derelict Venator-class Star Destroyer over a moon. Despite protests by the Emperor's Royal Guard to not investigate the derelict vessel due to dangers, Vader opened up the shuttle's airlock and exited into the vacuum of space to personally investigate. He noted that the ship had apparently been taken out by a single blast, yet there were surprisingly few corpses on board the vessel, indicating that most of the crew had evacuated. Vader, during his search, found the ship's datalogs, and after transferring the logs to the Royal Guards, requested for them to pick him off where he had left. Vader and the Emperor's Royal Guards deduced the point of origin of the energy beam that doomed the vessel: a nearby moon. They also learned that the captain had encountered a saboteur with a homing device who was apparently a member of the Heinsnake Cult. They then went to locate the area that the surviving crew had evacuated to, in the hopes of finding the captain and learning more about the cult's plot against the Emperor, although they only found abandoned vessels at the evacuation site, with Vader speculating that the survivors were most likely eaten by the wildlife. Vader then killed one of the monsters on the planet, although not before the monster squashed one of the Royal Guards to death. He and the surviving guard eventually located the suspected source of the beam: several ancient ruins. However, Vader upon entering the temple started suspecting that he was being stalked.[222]